Voters across Whittier Tech’s 11 sending communities rejected a plan to build a new school, with 73% of all votes cast being against the proposal. The plan needed a simple majority of votes to move forward, but it fell short of that mark, leaving Whittier officials to come up with an alternate plan for a less costly school or seek a renovation and code upgrade project.
If the ballot question were approved, the owner of the average single-family home of $501,341 in Haverhill would have been charged an additional annual property tax of $297 a year for the 34-year life of the loan. However, with the rejection of the plan, the community will now have to explore other options for funding any necessary upgrades or renovations.
Whittier Tech officials have been collaborating with the Massachusetts School Building Authority since 2016 to explore options for a new school project. The current building, opened in 1973, faces costly maintenance and structural challenges, including the replacement of its wastewater system, along with required code upgrades. The rejection of the plan means that the district will have to find alternative ways to address these issues and ensure that the school meets the needs of a 21st-century career technical education.
