LYNN — The City Council voted unanimously to approve borrowing $166,598,362 in bonds to construct the new Pickering Middle School at a lot adjacent to 58 Conomo Ave. Tuesday night.
Although the city voted to approve borrowing for the construction project’s full cost, the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted in October to increase its reimbursement from $393 to $550 per square foot, bringing Lynn’s out-of-pocket share of construction costs down from approximately $90 million to roughly $62 million.
The vote came after a public hearing in which Mayor Jared Nicholson, Councilors, and Ward 1 resident Paul Gouthro aired their thoughts on the project. Speaking first, Nicholson expressed gratitude to individuals and organizations involved with the school’s planning.
Nicholson pointed out that unforeseen costs brought the project dangerously close to failure and thanked the City Council, the State Delegation, School Committee, School Building Committee, and 15 other Massachusetts gateway cities for their advocacy toward the new Pickering school.
“I strongly believe that public schools are the foundation upon which the entire city is built, and we also understand that our current school facilities are not able to deliver on the space that our teachers and students deserve,” Nicholson said. “It’s really been a tremendous effort to get us this far. That whole effort was very much at risk just a few months ago.”
After Gouthro expressed his support for the project, naming and thanking each School Building Committee member for their efforts toward the school’s design and planning, Councilor-at-Large Brian LaPierre referred to the milestone as bitter-sweet.
In his remarks, LaPierre spoke passionately of his support for the project but bitterly and angrily at the fact that the Lynn electorate voted against the construction of two new middle schools — one to replace Pickering and another in West Lynn — for a total cost of $188.5 million back in 2017.
LaPierre said he believed voters in 2017 were “fear mongered” into voting in opposition to two new schools, arguing that anti-immigrant sentiment, fears of a tax increase, and lack of trust in stable government steered the campaign against the new schools more than seven years ago.
“Although we’re able to do it now, and I’m proud of the fact that we’re able to do this, we were going to be able to build two schools back then for the price of what we’re going to pay for Pickering — one school — today,” LaPierre said. “We are going to suffer those consequences for generations because of the narrow-mindedness of the electorate back then.”
Ward 3 City Councilor Coco Alinsug also spoke in support of the school construction funding, adding that he wanted to clear up misconceptions about the project. Alinsug stated that the school’s construction will not impact property taxes, contrary to rumors.
Alinsug also reiterated that the city would not be responsible for paying for the full costs borrowed for the school’s construction.
“There’s also a lot of misinformation out there, and it is our role as city officials to really educate the public until everyone, or most of them, get it,” Alinsug said.
Additionally, Ward 1 City Councilor Peter Meaney referred to the school construction as a “step for the city” and a “step for Ward 1,” and Ward 4 City Councilor Natasha Megie-Maddrey praised the project, echoing LaPierre’s disappointment in the 2017 vote.
“Our kids; education is key. And I, too, was saddened by the vote in 2017. It was really a shame, and it’s not okay, because one school is not enough. We need more than one school because our buildings are falling apart,” Megie-Maddrey said.
