This is our chance — if we do not approve funding for the EHS project in May, it will be years before the city will be considered again for any school building assistance, for any building project.

Total Project Budget = $43,691,108
State Grant = $25,543,860
Easthampton Costs = $18,147,248
Funded by a 20 year conventional bond
Based on the Total Cost of the Project…

Important Note:
Actual tax impact will be less than the numbers stated above due to other debt coming off the tax rolls.

From a financial perspective, there will never be a better time to act:

• Building a new high school has been determined to be the most cost effective option for the city. A detailed analysis has shown that renovating the existing high school would cost more, and result in a building with many of the same shortcomings we have now.
• The Massachusetts School Building Authority will contribute over half the cost of the project. In addition, “bonus points” providing additional reimbursement are available for meeting certain “green building” standards, which are in the project plan
• Acting now will allow the city to take advantage of historically low borrowing costs and a very competitive environment for contractor bids.
• Bond repayment won’t begin until 2013. This will allow considerable time for the economy to improve before property tax bills are impacted.