Burlington High School Committee Must Return to the Drawing Board

Burlington high schoolers will be remaining in their current facility for the foreseeable future after the debt exclusion vote to fund an addition-renovation project at Burlington High School failed by a 2:1 margin at Saturday's Special Election.

A feasibility study that began in 2023 with $1.5 million approved by Town Meeting culminated in a plan for a $333-million addition-renovation, which would have resulted in a new classroom wing and renovated spaces throughout the rest of the school. Borrowing for the project was approved by Town Meeting in September, pending the town-wide approval of a debt exclusion.

The debt exclusion would have allowed the town to increase taxes beyond the amount allowed by Proposition 2 1/2 until debt from the project was paid off.

Yes to BHS proponents campaigned hard from the beginning, sending the message that the work needed to address the school, which opened in the early 1970s, was urgent and it was better to go into a planned project rather than have a catastrophic failure of one of the mechanical systems (all of which are original to the building and largely at end-of-life), which would create an urgent situation and be disruptive to students – and also cost nearly as much due to code requirements.

Soon a NO New Taxes Committee was formed, focused largely on the tax implications for this project, which would add to the impact of the Burlington Police Station and Fox Hill Elementary projects, which are already underway. The project would have increased taxes more than $1,100 on top of the increase from the other two.

In the end, the NO New Taxes message won out, with 68.5% voting No, according to preliminary results shared by the Town Clerk's office. School Department officials will now need to regroup to work on a plan that is more likely to be accepted by voters. Burlington Buzz will keep you updated on how that conversation shapes up.