Overview:
Voters in Phillipston will decide at a Special Town Meeting on Dec. 3 if the Narragansett Regional School District can borrow $10.8 million to replace the roof at Narragansett Regional High School and part of the roof at the middle school. The MSBA will cover just over 59% of the cost, with the remaining cost for construction amounting to $4.7 million. If approved, Templeton will be responsible for 85% of that amount, with the remainder coming from Phillipston.
PHILLIPSTON – Voters will decide at a Special Town Meeting Wednesday if the Narragansett Regional School District can borrow approximately $10.8 million to replace the entire roof at Narragansett Regional High School and part of the roof at the middle school.
Taken separately, the cost of the high school portion of the project would be nearly $9.2 million, with the middle school estimated at $1.7 million.
Phillipston and Templeton, the two communities which make up the district, must vote to approve the $10.8 million in order to qualify for a substantial reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority [MSBA]. According to information on the Templeton web site, the MSBA will cover just over 59% of the cost.
The remaining cost for construction would amount to $4.7 million. With principal and interest figured in, the total for Templeton and Phillipston would be just over $7 million. Templeton will be responsible for 85% of that amount, with the remainder coming from Phillipston.
Templeton voters approved the $10.8 million Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion at a Special Town Meeting on Nov. 24. It will next go before Templeton at a special election on Jan. 6. If it is not approved at that time, the project goes back to square one.
If Phillipston voters Wednesday night approve the borrowing, it will not need to seek a debt exclusion to cover its share of the cost. Chief Administrative Officer Adam Lamontagne told the Athol Daily News, “We’ll be responsible for $1,058,000 – a little over a million dollars. We have sufficient funds in our stabilization account to cover that.
“Here in Phillipston, we’re in a unique position because we’re in such good financial shape,” he added. “Where we have the sufficient funds, all we have to do is authorize the district to borrow the money.”
Phillipston’s Special Town Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. at Phillipston Memorial Building, 20 The Common.