Date set for Lakeville to revote Old Colony project

LAKEVILLE -- The proposed $288 million Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School building project will be brought back to Lakeville voters on June 20. 

The Old Colony District School Committee unanimously approved a revote during a Wednesday, April 22 meeting.

School Committee Chair Nancy Souza said it is important for this project to come back to residents a second time. 

“We'd like to reach a broader audience and give it another try,” Souza said. “We are the voice of our students, and we just feel that it's important enough and a big enough project that we need to reach out to as many people as we can.”

The Lakeville vote will take place Saturday, June 20 at Asssawompset Elementary School.  

Lakeville Select Board members agreed at their April 28 to the change in polling locations from the usual Loon Pond Lodge because the lodge already has an event scheduled.

Select Board Chair Lorraine Carboni stressed that this was a “one-time’’ change of polling location.

While some had called for the vote to be held in September, an earlier vote would make the project less costly, Old Colony Superintendent Aaron Polansky said at the Lakeville Select Board meeting.

“To delay the vote until September impedes our ability to come in under budget,’’ he said.

The spring date was also selected, he said, because if the new construction was approved, work could begin soon after, Polansky said. If the work was approved in the fall, he said, ground could not be broken in the winter.

The current, aging building is in need of repairs and infrastructural updates. It also does not meet state space requirements and lacks accessible bathrooms. These changes would be costly, with about $134 million needed to make all of the needed repairs.

The school received a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to cover $129 million of the building project, leaving member towns collectively responsible for the remaining $159 million.

“Financially is always a hard pill to swallow, but we're putting kids out into the workforce,” Souza said. “We'd like to right-size this building.”

Voters soundly defeated the project in November, when the issue first came before voters. Across the five towns, 5,035 residents voted, with 1,923 in support and 3,112 against the proposal.  Only Mattapoisett approved the project.

Lakeville turned down the project by 54 votes, with 478 in opposition and 424 in support.

Old Colony will cover the cost of the election, Polansky said.