An election victory for future Voke students

Saugus joins voters from a dozen communities in landslide support of a new Northeast Metro Tech School

  Northeast Metro Tech Principal Carla Scuzzarella says she wasn’t taking anything for granted late Tuesday afternoon as she stood on the sidewalk in front of the Saugus Senior Center with a cup of hot coffee in one hand and a campaign sign in the other, seeking support from town voters. The sign read: “Northeast Needs You. Please Vote Yes! Our Kids Need A Future.”

  “I’m cautiously optimistic that the vote will be positive in all of our communities,” Scuzzarella told a reporter as she waved to honking cars passing by toward the end of her four-hour shift.

  As far as Scuzzarella was concerned, the voters in Saugus – her hometown – and the other 11 communities that make up the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School District didn’t disappoint her. Saugus was among the 11 communities that voted overwhelmingly in support of a proposed new Northeast Metro Tech School.

  Seven percent of the town’s 20,509 registered voters turned out, and about 63 percent of them voted “Yes” on the question of whether to authorize the borrowing of about $317.4 million to pay costs of designing, constructing and originally equipping a new Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School and related athletic facilities, located at 100 Hemlock Rd. in Wakefield.

A lopsided vote for The Voke school

  Overall, the question prevailed on a lopsided vote – about 83 percent of voters supporting the school project – which has already received an award of $140.8 million from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The school project needed to win by just a simple majority. Only voters in Chelsea – which has the second-highest enrollment (238) of the district’s 1,281 students – opposed the project. Of the 283 residents in that city who voted, only 109 (39 percent) voted “Yes.”

  Saugus, which has 170 students enrolled at Northeast Metro Tech – the third-highest enrollment (13 percent) in the district, had the most voters (1,468) turning out of all of the communities. Wakefield, where the school is based, drew 1,069 voters. Revere, which has the highest enrollment (248, 19 percent) of Northeast Metro Tech students, had a turnout of only 417 voters.

  Construction of the school is not expected to begin until the spring of 2023, with a targeted completion in early 2026.

  Superintendent David DiBarri issued the following statement on Wednesday, on behalf of the Northeast Metropolitan Vocational Technical School Committee:

  “We are deeply grateful to the voters in our 12 sending communities for their participation in today’s vote, their collective support of a new school building, and for securing a vision for a 21st-century career technical education that will position our students for success after graduation.

  “Input from the Northeast community has been an integral part of this process. School officials, construction experts, and School Committee and Building Committee members from all 12 communities worked diligently to create a proposal that reflects that community feedback, and respects the cost to taxpayers.

  “Our work is just beginning. We welcome community feedback as we refine this project, and look forward to the day we celebrate a new chapter for Northeast Metro Tech.”

  Northeast/Deputy Director Scuzzarella, who is also a Precinct 10 Town Meeting member in Saugus, echoed DiBarri’s sentiments about the vote. “We are grateful and ecstatic!” she said.

  The next step for Saugus is how the town will pay its share for the new school. “The powers that be have about three years to figure out how to pay for it,” Scuzzarella said.

Another debt excursion vote may be coming

  The district’s share of the project is $176.6 million. Town officials have already said the community would have to hold another special election to decide on how to finance the project, which has been estimated to cost up to $40 million over a 30-year period.

  At the end of Tuesday (Jan. 25) night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the board’s chair, Anthony Cogliano, thanked Saugus voters for approving the new Voke school. He also alluded to the upcoming challenge of winning town-wide support for financing the project. “I think it’s the smart thing to do to support education,” Cogliano said.

  “I know we’re going to have our hands full to get the word out there as to how we’re going to fund that school – but that’s a topic for another day. I’m sure we’ll do our part to educate the public on that,” he said.

  Peter A. Rossetti, Jr., the longtime Saugus representative on the Northeast Metro Tech School Committee and a Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member, said he expects town officials will begin work on crafting a debt exclusion campaign by year’s end.

  Rossetti, who spent several hours outside the Senior Center parking lot on Tuesday holding a sign campaigning for the new school project, was in a celebratory mood when an election worker posted the unofficial election results at the entrance of the Senior Center. “Excellent! Now it’s time to get moving on the actual construction and Saugus finances. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish,” Rossetti said.

  “Thank you, Saugus! It’s nice to see the support for the school and the future kids who will go there,” Rossetti said.

  Rossetti credits the strong support for the project in Saugus from The Voke alumni and tradespeople who hire Northeast Metro Tech graduates. “I noticed a lot of commercial vehicles driving into the parking lot today to vote,” Rossetti said. “These are people who look like they’re tradespeople, people who would be big supporters of the school.”

  The new school will feature 21st-century learning environments, improved Individualized Education Program (IEP) accommodations, state-of-the-art shop and technical lab space, expanded program offerings, a new primary access roadway from Farm Street to reduce traffic congestion, a full-size gym, a 750-seat auditorium, outdoor learning space and a new cafeteria.

  School officials say the current enrollment of 1,280 students will increase by approximately 320 students versus the current enrollment. This is a major benefit of the project, as the District currently rejects more freshman applications than they accept due to space limitations. The construction of a new Northeast Metro Tech would allow for additional programs for Marketing, Medical Assisting and Biotechnology, school officials say.

  Northeast Metro Tech was built 53 years ago in 1968, and the facility has outlived its intended lifespan. Classrooms and shops are overcrowded, infrastructure systems are outdated and the building does not comply with existing Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, according to school officials. Northeast Metro Tech has not had any significant renovations, additions or improvements since then. Students are facing several issues that are reducing the quality of the educational experience the school is able to provide. The school is at capacity and more than 300 students are waitlisted every year.

Special Election Results

Community                Yes     No       Percent for

Chelsea                       109      174      39%

Malden                        666      151      82%

Melrose                       979      132      88%

North Reading            836      51        94%

Reading                      663      83        89%

Revere                        354      63        85%

Saugus                       921      547      63%

Stoneham                   334      34        91%

Wakefield                    919      150      86%

Winchester                  679      60        92%

Winthrop                     267      43        86%

Woburn                       759      80        91%

Total                           7,486   1,568   83%