Overview:
Phillipston voters will decide on Thursday whether to approve a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion to pay for a new roof at Narragansett Regional High School and a portion of the roof at the district's middle school. The estimated cost of the combined project is approximately $10.8 million, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority covering 59% of the total project cost. The remaining $4.7 million will be the responsibility of the district, with Templeton covering 85% of the bond and Phillipston covering the remaining 15%.
PHILLIPSTON – Voters will decide at a Special Election Thursday whether to approve the town’s portion of a Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion to pay for a new roof at Narragansett Regional High School and a portion of the roof at the district’s middle school.
The estimated cost of the combined project is approximately $10.8 million. The school has students from Templeton and Phillipston.
According to information posted on the district’s website, the Massachusetts School Building Authority will cover 59% of the total project cost, approximately $6.1 million. The remaining $4.7 million will be the responsibility of the district, although the actual amount of the proposed 20-year bond will end up being just over $7 million, with the principal and interest figured in.
Templeton will be responsible for covering 85% of the bond, or just under $6 million, while Phillipston will handle the remaining 15%. The bond will add an estimated $75 to the annual tax bill of a single-family home in Phillipston. Templeton tax bills will increase just over $95 per year.
Last Tuesday, Jan. 6, Templeton voted to approve the debt exclusion, 202 to 68, roughly 4% of the town’s registered voters. While Templeton will likely have to borrow to pay its portion of the proposed bond, Phillipston is in a unique position.
“We have sufficient funds in our stabilization account to cover that,” Chief Administrative Officer Adam Lamontagne previously said. “We’re in a unique position because we’re in such good financial shape.”
Lamontagne added that the town could still opt to borrow the entire amount or, if it so decides, pay a large portion of the obligation while borrowing the remainder.
Polls in Phillipston will be open Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. and ballots will be cast in the second-floor assembly area at Town Hall, 50 The Common.