The Kennedy Middle School in west Natick needs a makeover. Patched floors, leaky ceilings, rusted heating systems and crumbling bricks characterize the structure built in the 1960’s for seventh and eighth graders and now crowded with a growing population of fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
The town of Natick has received a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority which would subsidize new construction. The choice Natick residents face will be whether to approve a debt exclusion to raise the remaining funds for the project, and this choice will appear on a ballot question in the town election March 27.
The website https://www.yourtownyourschools.org/old-school states that “a debt-exclusion is meant to finance a particular project by allowing a community to raise funds above the amount of its levy or levy ceiling. Property taxes increase for a period of time to cover the cost of construction. When the bond on that project is paid off, the increase to your town’s levy limit is removed and the tax increase for that project goes away.” The town of Natick approved debt exclusions for the construction of Natick High School, the Community Senior Center and Wilson Middle School, and these increases are expected to be removed in 2024, 2031 and 2033, respectively.
Katie Joyce, a Town Meeting member, is campaigning for the new school.
“My kids will go to Wilson,” she said, “but it is a benefit for all of Natick. It will be a great resource with the auditorium and fields.”
The new Kennedy Middle School is being designed for 1000 students, allowing for movement from an overcrowded Wilson to Kennedy, so that each school would initally hold approximately 850 students. The building would have an estimated completion date of February 2021, if begun as projected in March 2019. Kennedy students would stay in the current school during construction, as the footprint for the new school overlaps the old school only slightly.
The projected building plans include an auditorium, planetarium, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a turf field, and additional parking. Science labs would be improved to provide hands on learning opportunities on a parity with schools in other Natick districts.
Repairs and code upgrades have been estimated to cost $50-55 million over the next five years, not including modulars necessary to accomodate rising the rising student population, while a new Kennedy Middle School is projected to cost about $109 million. MSBA has committed to paying $37 million, 34% of the total project. Pending approval of a debt exclusion, the town of Natick would fund the remaining $72 million. Joyce feels that “the time is right,” citing a 5% inflation on construction costs each year, and the time sensitive support of the state grant. The cost per foot of the projected building, said Joyce, is comparable to schools in Lynn, Saugus, and Worcester.
Property tax increases will average $34 per month (for a home valued at $512,000). Resources for financial assistance can be found at http://www.natickma.gov/182/Tax-Relief.
“A lot of people think it’s a done deal. They’ve seen the pictures of the new building, but we do need the votes on March 27,” said Joyce. Polls are open from 7 am - 8 pm.
Issue Date:
March, 2018
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