Andover High Building Project

HEADS UP! You are being given one day notice to attend a 45 minute workshop to provide feedback on 3 options for Andover High.

Though status updates were occasionally brought to other Boards, every single meeting of the AHS Working Group that developed these 3 options was done out of public view, with no public postings, no recordings and no meeting minutes.

This is the first time the public has been invited into the process related to these options, so please show up to the School Committee meeting if you can! (Tomorrow, Thursday Feb 25th beginning 4:30pm.)

Looking for an update and an opportunity to share your input on the AHS Improvement Project? 🏫

The Andover School Committee will hear from the Town Manager and school and town officials during a workshop on Thursday, February 26, at 4:30 p.m. Presenters will provide an overview of the three proposed options, including estimated costs, financial impacts, and educational benefits.

Following the workshop, community members are invited to share their perspectives during a community forum from 5:45 - 6:30 p.m.

We encourage all members of the community to join us in the School Committee Room at 30 Whittier Court, 2nd floor.

When you were considering moving to Andover, was the town's bond rating on the top of your list of considerations?

Of course it wasn't. Chances are, you were more concerned about public schools, green space, or a cute downtown than what Standards & Poor had to say about the creditworthiness of Andover bonds.

Yet somehow maintaining a AAA rating has become sacrosanct to some, even though the math doesn't add up.

What is a town's bond rating? It is simply one of a handful of metrics used to determine an interest rate when the town goes to borrow money for capital projects. Every borrowing - from the smallest items in the annual CIP to the largest building projects - can be influenced by the borrowing rate.

HOWEVER, there is a poor understanding of how much financial impact a bond rating actually has. If you look up municipal borrowing rates for similar-sized amounts, for similar length terms, taken out at about the same time, you will find that normal fluctuations in bond markets have a higher impact on borrowing rates than a town's bond rating.

An analysis by the Town of Andover determined a bond rating drop from AAA to AA+ would impact borrowing by about 25 basis points (from 4.5% to 4.75%, for example). Their September 2023 study showed a rating drop related to a $480 million high school construction borrowing would have a TOTAL IMPACT of $30.8 million: $26.2 million on the high school project and $4.6 million on 10 years of all other anticipated borrowing.

Compare that $30.8 million to the additional cost in construction escalation -- $100 million and growing -- that has now come with delaying the high school project.

Was it worth $70+ million to be able to say Andover is AAA bond rated? Has our town become more attractive or offered residents better services because S&P's report card still gives Andover three As? Certainly public education has not improved by prioritizing the bond rating over investment in a modern high school facility.

So, follow up question: Is the drive to maintain AAA in Andover:
A. based on math?
B. an ego-driven exercise?

The Town's 2023 financial impact analysis is available here:
https://andoverma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13408/09272023-AHS-Building-Project-Financial-Considerations
and the slides discussing the impact of bond rating begin on page 11.

Debt exclusions authorize the town to borrow money above what is allowed through normal taxation under proposition 2.5. To approve a debt exclusion, voters need to pass the measure twice: first by more than 66% at town meeting, then a second time by more than 50% in a ballot box vote.

School building projects -- including High Plain, Wood Hill, Bancroft, West Elementary and Shawsheen Preschool -- have all been funded through debt exclusions.

However, since 2017 town building projects have been paid for within the normal property tax levy, each requiring just a vote at town meeting:

- Municipal Services (5 Campanelli Drive) funded in 2017, including purchase of land
- Ballardvale Fire Station funded in 2018
- Robb Senior Center funded in 2019
- Town Hall third floor renovations funded in 2020
- Town Hall second floor renovations funded in 2023

Currently, the plan for each potential option developed by the Select Board for AHS would require a debt exclusion. So, whether you favor an $80 million science wing or authorizing $18 million to address deferred maintenance, voters will need to be convinced twice.

Meanwhile, the town’s Capital Improvement Plan, which includes general mantenance projects, allocates $0 to improvements at Andover High.

You can read the FY27 CIP here:
https://andoverma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/18270/Town-Managers-Recommended-Capital-Improvement-Program-FY2027-FY2031
b

Last night, the School Committee received pricing information on AHS options born from the most recent facility study, which was funded at the Select Board’s $500,000 request to Special Town Meeting in November 2023 (“Article 7B”).

Unsurprisingly, there is no option that addresses the most critical educational and infrastructure deficiencies within the stated $50 million to $60 million price target.

This marks the third time in the last decade various committees have reached the same conclusion

As a summary, the most recently developed options are:

Option 1: $80 million
- Adds a new science wing to the front of the building, plus
- everything in Option 2

Option 2: $17 million to $27 million
- Furniture upgrades (cafeteria, science labs, general classrooms)
- Mechanical system upgrades (boilers, roof top units, air handler units, mini-splits in some priority classrooms, and kitchen/cafeteria needs)
- Electric system upgrades (transformer replacement, convert to LED)
- Security upgrades (door standardization & key system, improved/no-gap public address system, exterior door monitoring & cameras, lockdown button for selective closure of building areas)

Option 3: $15 million to $18 million, based on need and actual spending
- Money is appropriated by Town Meeting, then used to address priority items from Option 2 and critical needs as they arise (i.e. when things break)
- Process for making/prioritizing spending decisions is TBD
- Intended to keep the building running for up to 15 years

None of the options presented include bringing the existing building up to modern building codes or into current ADA compliance.

You can watch the full presentation of priced options by forwarding to 18:20 in the video replay here:
https://cloud.castus.tv/vod/andover/video/6985e6ffdced9d00028304fc?page=HOME

As a follow-up, the School Committee stated they will have a workshop on this topic on a yet-to-be-determined date. Workshops allow discussion among committee members but typically do not offer time for public feedback.