Debt Exclusion Vote for Bristol-Plymouth November 8

On November 8, Rehoboth voters will be asked to approve a debt exclusion to pay for the $305 million Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School construction.

The building project was approved last March.

Although the project was rejected in Rehoboth, there were enough votes for passage in the member communities which included Berkley, Bridgewater, Dighton, Middleborough, Raynham, and Taunton.

There were 3,353 "yes" votes in favor of a new building, while 3,047 voted "no." The total "yes" votes amounted to 52.4 percent of the vote.

Selectman Michael Deignan said the cost to the town would be $550,000 for the first year. If the debt exclusion is not approved, the money would have to be taken from town services. Deignan said the $550,000 number would fluctuate every year depending on the number of students from Rehoboth attending Bristol-Plymouth.

“That $550,000 would be split among all the homeowners and all the businesses in Rehoboth that pay property taxes,” Deignan explained. “The person with a $300,000 house is going to pay a lot less than somebody with a $600,000 house or a million dollar house.”

The property tax increase will last for 30 years.

“As an entity, the Board of Selectmen takes no position one way or the other on whether you should vote for or against the debt exclusion,” Deignan said. “We simply want people to be aware of what a ‘yes’ vote means and what a ‘no’ vote means.”

The Massachusetts School Building Authority provided authorization for a Project Funding Agreement for the Bristol-Plymouth project in September 2021. The agreement includes reimbursement of 62.25 percent of eligible project costs up to a maximum reimbursement amount of $125, 569, 759 toward construction of a modern Bristol-Plymouth school facility.