Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich
BARNSTABLE – The Barnstable Town Council has approved placing a debt exclusion override for its share of a proposed new Cape Cod Regional Technical High School before voters in the fall.
The Regional School District, which includes the towns of Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Brewster, Harwich, Orleans, Chatham, Eastham, Truro, Wellfleet and Provincetown, will conduct a district-wide election October 24 seeking the authorization to issue a General Obligation Bond to finance the construction of a new facility in Harwich.
Current estimates for total construction costs are $141 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority is expected to reimburse about 30 percent of the total cost leaving the district on the hook for about $98.7 million.
A bond with a 5 percent interest rate would result in the district paying $6.4 million per year for 30 years to cover the construction costs.
The town of Barnstable’s share of the yearly cost would be $1.87 million as 29 percent of students currently attending the school are from the town.
“A debt exclusion of this amount would result in an annual increase in the median tax bill of about $45 per year or $3.75 per month,” said Mark Milne, who discussed the override with Town Council.
Milne said putting the override before the town ahead of the district-wide election to authorize funding is beneficial.
“We want the public to be educated about the financial impact this potentially has on us,” he said. “If we wait until after the school district is successful people could go to that October vote without having that financial impact information in their heads.”
The town’s portion of the regional school district budget in Fiscal Year 2018 is $3.5 million. If the school is approved, the assessment would increase by 53 percent to approximately $5.4 million.
If the debt exclusion is not approved by the town, it would reduce the resources available to fund other services or programs by $1.87 million.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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