More info for all you taxpayers in Lynn. $750,000 is being spent on feasibility study in hopes of building new Pickering. Be careful about the wording though...it is very misleading. The article states, "....is required under the rules of the Massachusetts School Building Authority in order to receive up to 80 percent reimbursement for the construction of a new school building." However, the actual reimbursement given by the state is up to 80% of "allowable or eligible costs" not for the total cost of the construction. For example, the new Marshall Middle School has a total cost of about $92 million to build. If I recall correctly, the "eligible costs" were about $67 million. Therefore, the 80% reimbursement given by the state was on the $67 million, not the full $92 million. In other words, you taxpayers are already on the hook for about $38 million for that one school, maybe more. The article also mentions that even though Pickering's current enrollment is roughly 650 students, school and city officials want the new Pickering to be able to accommodate 1300 students, which will help "alleviate some of the overcrowding problems in Marshall and Breed." In other words, Pickering will no longer be a neighborhood school and students from all over the city will be allowed to enroll.
Now that the Lynn City Council has appropriated the money for a feasibility study for a new Pickering Middle School, the next step is to come up with a projected enrollment by the time the school is built.
ITEMLIVE.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment