Voters will be asked to approve three separate debt exclusions, or temporary property tax hikes, to fund the debt service on the projects. The referendum questions have not yet been written. City officials said they are awaiting final cost estimates.
“We have been given an amazing opportunity to help both the young and the old in our community,’’ said Meghan Kinsey, chairwoman of the Port Pride Community Building Project, a grass-roots group formed recently to champion the three projects. “At this stage, we’re trying to figure out how to clearly communicate to the voting public what is at stake.’’
Social media sites like Facebook have coffees scheduled, and the newbres.org website will play an integral role in conveying the importance of the projects, she said. But tours of the two schools also will be key, giving voters a chance to see the buildings first-hand.
Newburyport for years had unsuccessfully requested state approval of the school projects. Finally, in March 2010, the Nock/Molin School was invited into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s funding pipeline; however, before the project could move forward, the district had to meet some prerequisites. A year later, in March 2011, the Bresnahan school also got the green light from the building authority. Feasibility studies for both school projects have been completed.
Built on High Street in the mid-1950s, the Bresnahan school serves students in grades 1-3. The Nock-Molin building, on Low Street, was erected in the early 1970s and houses the sixth- to eighth-grade Nock Middle School and the fourth- and fifth-grade Molin Upper Elementary School.
The Bresnahan school was accepted into the authority’s Model School Program, which would allow the district to model the design of the building after a completed project, saving both time and money. The Newburyport project would be based on the East Fairhaven Elementary School, which was designed by HMFH Architects Inc. in Cambridge.
