We reported last week that efforts to getting a new high school on the gas burner with the state agency responsible for such things is looking very slim.
Everett is seeking a new high school that is estimated to cost $500 to $550 million, a gargantuan sum of money for any community let alone Everett.
Actually, a new high school approved by the state is looking almost impossibly unlikely, given the lack of funding by the state for new facilities such as high schools, and their spiraling costs.
As we reported last week, the state might possibly pay about 50% of the total cost of a new Everett High School.
This would leave the city $250 million short of paying the bill for a new high school. Where would that come from?
The taxpayers.
In Wakefield, a new high school is being built that will cost property owners approximately $1200-$1500 a year on their tax bills.
We can only wonder what it would cost Everett residents to do the same.
Using Pope John as a tool to reduce overcrowding would have been well within the financial abilities of the city to pay.
Because of petty politics, Pope John was rejected for the hope for a new school, which is a good ten years away.
The overcrowding merry go round continues here with no solution in sight.
What is worse, is that the overcrowding is allowed to go on, that Pope John remains a school that is standing there empty, and the hype about a new school remains more important than solving a problem.