BEVERLY — Mayor Bill Scanlon said he's the type of person who prefers to look forward to the next item on his to-do list.
But tomorrow, he and others will take time to savor an achievement that will impact the city for years to come.
At 9 a.m., officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new $81 million Beverly High School. After remarks by Scanlon and Superintendent Marie Galinski, invited guests will be given tours of the new school by students.
On Saturday, the general public will get its first chance to see the building during an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"My character is always to think about what's the next thing we've got to do," Scanlon said. "But it is kind of special. It's only going to occur once in our lifetime."
The new high school is actually a combination of new construction and renovations to the existing school, which was built in 1965. The new part is a four-story academic building built in the parking lot of the existing school on Sohier Road. The auditorium, cafeteria and field house will remain, but with extensive renovations and updates.
The academic portion of the existing building, which consists of four wings, will be demolished by next summer and replaced mostly by parking.
The high school will be closed from Nov. 23 to 29 to allow time for furniture and equipment to be moved in. Students and teachers will begin school in the new building Nov. 30.
The gleaming new building includes the latest in energy-efficient technology, including solar panels on the roof, window shades that modulate building temperature, and motion-detector lights. Its rectangular construction, with a main corridor down the middle, ensures sunlight in every classroom, Scanlon said.
Opponents of the high school project say it comes at a time when the city can least afford to pay for it. The state is paying 58.4 percent of the cost, or $47.3 million, leaving the city with a price tag of $33.9 million.
The city has begun borrowing that money and will be paying debt service of about $2.2 million per year for the next 25 years. The payments will be as high as $2.7 million in the early years and will decrease over time.
Don Martin, one of two city councilors who voted against funding the high school in 2006, said he hasn't changed his mind about the unaffordability of the project.
"There's a plan on paper, but in reality that's all it is, a plan on paper," he said. "Basically what it does is it puts everything else on the back burner. We won't have a new police station, we won't be able to renovate a middle school, there won't be more police officers or firefighters. That's the reality of doing a project like this."
Martin said residents should have been given the chance to vote on a debt exclusion property tax override to pay for the high school.
"If people wanted a new high school, then pay extra for it," he said.
Scanlon said he is "confident" the city will be able to pay for the high school within its budget. He cites various funding sources, the largest of which is $1 million that is now available because the city has finished paying off the long-term debt from building its senior center and library, as well as some smaller debts.
The city will also use $500,000 per year in increased taxes from the Cummings Center that had been going to the school budget, as well as $450,000 per year from state reimbursements for the elementary schools renovation project.
Scanlon cites property taxes on telephone poles and wires, savings from building maintenance, and transfers from other departments as other sources of revenue to pay for the high school.
The city has put aside $500,000 from its operating budget to help pay for the project. It will also devote money from the sale of the vacant McKay School, whenever that happens, Scanlon said.
Recent drops in interest rates and the fact that the state now allows communities to stretch payments over 25 years also helps, Scanlon said.
"We can't go and bite off another big one," he said, "but we can handle what we've bitten off right now."
Officials decided to build a new school after the New England Association of Schools and Colleges threatened as far back as 2000 to revoke the high school's accreditation due to "large-scale deterioration" of the building. The City Council approved the funding for a new school in February of 2006.
"We were within two to three weeks of losing our accreditation," Scanlon said. "Now here we are with an attractive building."
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by e-mail at pleighton@salemnews.com.
Price tag
The city will pay an average of $2.2 million per year in debt service for 25 years. Here's where the money for the annual payments will come from, according to Mayor Bill Scanlon:
Retirement of existing debt for past projects such as library and senior center$1 million
Expiration of Cummings Center tax break$500,000
Increase in state reimbursement for elementary school renovations $450,000
Property taxes on poles and wires $125,000
Other department budget transfers $75,000
Building operation and maintenance savings$50,000
Total$2.2 million
Opening ceremonies
Friday, 9 to 11 a.m. — Ribbon-cutting ceremony including remarks by Mayor Bill Scanlon and Superintendent Marie Galinski and a performance by the Beverly High School Strings Ensemble. Invited guests will be given tours of the building after the ceremony, with 16 students serving as tour guides.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Open house. Students will conduct tours for the public.
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