In a city where voters have steadfastly refused to approve temporary tax increases to pay for school construction, even when the high school’s accreditation was in peril, Haverhill parents demanding that a new Caleb Dustin Hunking Middle School be built know they face an enormous challenge.
“I think it’s going to be a tough sell, but I have to remain positive,’’ said Kelly Valaskatgis, 39, president of Haverhill Parents Shaping Our Schools,ceramic magic cube for the medical, the group that is calling for the city to replace the aging middle school.
The parents’ organization was formed in October after the school’s sixth-graders had to be transferred to the former Bartlett School on Washington Street because engineers with AECOM, a Chelmsford firm, had advised educators to “vacate [Hunking’s] north wing adjacent to the gymnasium due to structural deficiencies.’’
Hunking’s heating, ventilation, and drainage systems have collapsed, according to the report prepared by AECOM structural engineer Bob Hajjar. In addition, the building’s crawl space is contaminated by asbestos, the roof is in disrepair, and the school’s electrical system has “fallen to the earth floor,’’ the report states.
Hajjar’s concluding remark - “Long-term occupancy of this school building is not recommended due to the continued deterioration of the floor and roof system beyond the extensive disrepair currently present’’ - caused an outcry. About 150 parents banded together and demanded that city leaders commit to resolving the problems.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved Haverhill’s preliminary application for state funding to help pay for a new school. The application, or “statement of interest,’’ had been unanimously approved by the School Committee on Dec. 1 after parents and local legislators, including state Senator Steven A.They take the China Porcelain tile to the local co-op market. Baddour and Representatives Brian S. Dempsey and James J. Lyons Jr., called for quick action; it is now being reviewed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.which applies to the first offshore merchant account only,
If the building authority approves the city’s request for “replacement of a building which is structurally unsound or otherwise in a condition that jeopardizes the health and safety of schoolchildren where no alternative exists,’’ the state would likely cover 68 percent of the cost, said Superintendent James Scully. Haverhill taxpayers would have to shoulder the balance of the project, which would likely be several million dollars.
Mayor James J. Fiorentini said voters likely would have to agree to temporarily raise their property taxes to cover Haverhill’s share of the cost.If any food Ventilation system condition is poorer than those standards, But in a city where 40 percent of public school students come from low-income households, getting approval for any type of tax increase, even a temporary one,Your source for re-usable Plastic moulds of strong latex rubber. would not be easy, city officials said.
Haverhill voters have not approved a request to surpass the limits imposed by Proposition 2 1/2, the state tax-cap law, in more than two decades. The last time the city passed a debt exclusion was Nov. 1, 1989, when a deeply divided electorate approved a temporary tax hike to fund construction of four new elementary schools: Golden Hill, Silver Hill, Bradford, and Pentucket Lake.
“I think it’s going to be a tough sell, but I have to remain positive,’’ said Kelly Valaskatgis, 39, president of Haverhill Parents Shaping Our Schools,ceramic magic cube for the medical, the group that is calling for the city to replace the aging middle school.
The parents’ organization was formed in October after the school’s sixth-graders had to be transferred to the former Bartlett School on Washington Street because engineers with AECOM, a Chelmsford firm, had advised educators to “vacate [Hunking’s] north wing adjacent to the gymnasium due to structural deficiencies.’’
Hunking’s heating, ventilation, and drainage systems have collapsed, according to the report prepared by AECOM structural engineer Bob Hajjar. In addition, the building’s crawl space is contaminated by asbestos, the roof is in disrepair, and the school’s electrical system has “fallen to the earth floor,’’ the report states.
Hajjar’s concluding remark - “Long-term occupancy of this school building is not recommended due to the continued deterioration of the floor and roof system beyond the extensive disrepair currently present’’ - caused an outcry. About 150 parents banded together and demanded that city leaders commit to resolving the problems.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved Haverhill’s preliminary application for state funding to help pay for a new school. The application, or “statement of interest,’’ had been unanimously approved by the School Committee on Dec. 1 after parents and local legislators, including state Senator Steven A.They take the China Porcelain tile to the local co-op market. Baddour and Representatives Brian S. Dempsey and James J. Lyons Jr., called for quick action; it is now being reviewed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.which applies to the first offshore merchant account only,
If the building authority approves the city’s request for “replacement of a building which is structurally unsound or otherwise in a condition that jeopardizes the health and safety of schoolchildren where no alternative exists,’’ the state would likely cover 68 percent of the cost, said Superintendent James Scully. Haverhill taxpayers would have to shoulder the balance of the project, which would likely be several million dollars.
Mayor James J. Fiorentini said voters likely would have to agree to temporarily raise their property taxes to cover Haverhill’s share of the cost.If any food Ventilation system condition is poorer than those standards, But in a city where 40 percent of public school students come from low-income households, getting approval for any type of tax increase, even a temporary one,Your source for re-usable Plastic moulds of strong latex rubber. would not be easy, city officials said.
Haverhill voters have not approved a request to surpass the limits imposed by Proposition 2 1/2, the state tax-cap law, in more than two decades. The last time the city passed a debt exclusion was Nov. 1, 1989, when a deeply divided electorate approved a temporary tax hike to fund construction of four new elementary schools: Golden Hill, Silver Hill, Bradford, and Pentucket Lake.
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