Swampscott Elementary School Vote Registration Deadline Wednesday

Swampscott MA

28 September, 2021

3:24 PM

Description

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott residents seeking to weigh in on the proposed new K-4 twin elementary schools at the site of the current Stanely School have until Wednesday night to register for the Oct. 19 townwide vote. Residents can register through the Voter Registration System of the Secretary of State's website, they can download a by-mail registration form from the Secretary of State's website and return it to the town clerk's office at 22 Monument Avenue or they can register in person at the town clerk's office until 8 p.m. on Wednesday. In-person voting will take place at Swampscott High School for all precincts. The Select Board voted for five days of early voting beginning on Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at town hall. There is no voting on Columbus Day, then early voting at town hall will continue Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and conclude Friday from 8 a.m. to noon. Residents will have until Oct. 13 at 5 p.m. to request a mail-in ballot and those must be returned to the town clerk's office or the dropbox at the town hall by 8 p.m. on Oct. 19 to count. Voters will decide whether to authorize the $97.5 million debt exclusion for the proposed new twin elementary schools. The town secured state matching funds of $34 million, which brings the cost to the town to about $63.5 million. The proposed school will be made up of a K-2 building and a Grades 3-4 building with a common area for facilities and staff use. The school will be built to serve about 900 students. Town meeting members voted 244 to 39 to support a townwide vote on the new school at a special town meeting. The "yes" vote also gave town officials the authority to negotiate an easement of property from the Unitarian Universalist Church needed for an access road as part of the state-approved proposal. With the state matching funds, the town finance committee — which supported the new school — said the maximum annual net-tax impact of the new school would be $300 annually for the median single-family homeowner in the town. If authorized and when completed, the proposed new school would replace the aging existing Hadley (which was built in 1911), Stanley (1929) and Clarke (1952) schools — which officials have said represents the third-oldest group of elementary school buildings in the state. Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch. (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)