PEABODY – The timing may be right, but the question of whether the city can afford to take part in a massive regional vocational school merger on the Essex Aggie campus weighed on the minds of City Council and School Committee members at a joint meeting Thursday.The new school would merge Peabody Vocational High School with North Shore Technical in Middleton and Essex Agricultural and Technical in Danvers at a cost of $133.7 million, with Peabody fronting 30 percent of the cost at nearly $9.4 million.The 17 communities interested in the merger have until Dec. 15 to vote on it, which would feature a 380,000-square foot 1,440 student-school and would offer more than 200 slots for Peabody vocational students who don’t have nearly as many opportunities at the programs currently offered at the Higgins Middle School and the high school.So far, Danvers and Rockport have approved the merger.This week, Governor Deval Patrick committed $21.1 million toward the project through his five-year capital investment plan on top of $77.5 million already committed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).Those funds, combined with $4 million from the anticipated sale of the North Shore Vocational School, would leave roughly $31 million to be shouldered by the member communities.That news is something Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry called a “deal of a lifetime.””This is well worth the investment and we’re never going to come so close again as we are today,” he said. “This merger would be a home run and the question shouldn’t be why should you (vote for it) but more why wouldn’t you.”Superintendent Milton Burnett said there are roughly 300 full-time vocational students in the city, but could not pinpoint the number of students who opt to take one or two courses.”A number of programs have been reduced or cut due to budgetary reasons and this is a chance to expand the opportunities for our students,” he said.Ward 5 City Councilor David Gamache expressed concern for the merger and requested the exact number of students currently taking part in programs in the city.”210 or 250 students seems well below the ratio (of what the city would be paying for),” he said. “I do think this is a good idea, but until some questions are answered, I have reservations.”Peabody’s slice of the payment pie could very well fluctuate depending on how many students apply to and are accepted into the program on a yearly basis, leaving city officials skittish that the total amount owed could balloon if other communities opt out.”This is about not only the future of our kids, but a broader picture of an economic engine that will do an awful lot of good for all of us,” said Mayor Michael Bonfanti.Another meeting to discuss detailed cost benefits and cost aspects of the merger has been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 5.