Lowell High project’s on hold pending judge ruling
The Massachusetts School Building Authority board has put a $336 million Lowell High School project on hold until a judge rules as to who has final say over where it will be built — the city council or the school committee.
In a packed boardroom yesterday, State Treasurer and board chairwoman Deborah Goldberg said the MSBA can’t resolve the legal question and is unwilling to move forward if a legal dispute remains. And although the board unanimously voted to table the project and hold off on funding a schematic design until its October meeting, members reassured the city they remained behind the effort to build the new school.
The dispute that has divided the city is whether to move the high school from its current downtown location to the site of Cawley Stadium. The City Council voted 5-4 in June to move the new high school out of downtown, though that decision has been challenged by the school committee, which is seeking a judge’s ruling on whether it has the authority to accept or reject the school’s location.
And though the city solicitor has said the city council has final say, the city’s bond counsel sent a letter to the board advising them that state law requires school committee approval of new school building designs — a message that weighed heavily on the MSBA’s decision to hold off on the vote.
“This is a pause,” Goldberg said. “This is not a rejection ... We’ve made it very clear you’re not going to lose funding for this project.”
MSBA board member Terry Kwan agreed, saying, “We cannot afford to put staff, time or tax dollars into a project that may have to be redone. The city of Lowell can do what it wants to — but not on our dime.”
But City Manager Kevin Murphy, who asked the board to fund the schematic pending the outcome of the school committee’s request, worried that dragging out the decision would only further divide the community, saying, “I fear there is going to be further upheaval in our community if this project is tabled.”
Mayor Edward Kennedy, who chairs both the council and the school committee, was encouraged by the board’s decision, which breathes new life into his goal of keeping the high school downtown, telling the Herald, “I think it’s a better place for the high school.” Another downtown proponent and school committee member, Robert Hoey, agreed.
“I’m not trying to kill any project,” he said. “I still want something for the kids. I want it downtown. Who says you can’t renovate?”
City Councilor Corey Belanger, meanwhile, worried a prolonged dispute would mean a loss of state support and funding and vowed to “call for a special meeting between the city council and the school committee to resolve this.”