Advocate News Online: www.advocatenews.net Vol. 32, No.7 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday Basketball Pats Roll Past Tide, 56-49 781-286-8500 Friday, February 17, 2023 City Council goes another round with high school funding By Barbara Taormina F or the past few Monday nights, the City Council Ways Revere’s Ethan Day drives through two Everett defenders during Wednesday night’s win in Everett. See story and photo highlights beginning on page 9. (Advocate photo by Emily Harney) Disability Commission focus on voting issues By Barbara Taormina R esearchers at Rutgers University estimate there are 17.7 million voters with disabilities, and they warn that candidates running for offi ce who ignore the disabled community do so at their own peril. Still, members of the Revere Commission on Disabilities say it hasn’t always been easy to cast a ballot. $3.65 GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 This week, Election Commissioner Paul Fahey joined the Disabilities Commission to talk about elections. Fahey said voting by mail is an option for all Massachusetts voters. Applications for mail in ballots can be requested online at MailmyballotMA.com or through a local election offi ce. Voters who are unable to independently mark a standard paper ballot can now request accessible electronic voting accommodations. To use the Accessible Vote by Mail system, voters need to apply through a local election offi ce or through the online mail-in ballot portal on the website for secretary of state. But for those who would rather vote the old-fashioned way, in person at the polls, every precinct is required to have at least one autoMARK voting terminal that uses audio cues and magnifi ers to assist visually impaired voters. According to Commission member Mario Grimanis, poll workers don’t know how to work the equipment. AutoMARK terminals are seldom used, so poll workers don’t know it. “It’s more the discouragement,” said Grimanis. “A lack of respect or understanding is part of the problem. I’ve seen people in wheelchairs get disrespected. It’s just the truth, I’ve watched it.” Fahey said a starting point for the election department is to make sure autoMARK machines are set up and ready to go. “I have no doubt you’ve experienced the discrimination you’re describing,” Fahey told Grimanis. “We’re hoping with more training people will better understand the role of poll workers.” Fahey is also hoping he can recruit a more diverse group of people to work at the polls that will be a more accurate reflection of Revere’s voting population. He asked commission members to consider the job and to tell friends and acquaintances the city is hiring. and Means Subcommittee has been digging into numbers looking for ways to pay for a new high school. This week, the meeting opened with a long and emotional public comment section with residents expressing their feeling and opinions about the project, the Wonderland site and the ways the city might pay for it. School Committee members, parents, students and successful graduates all spoke passionately about the need for a new school to give Revere students a fair chance for a successful future. Several speakers stressed the risk of Revere High losing its accreditation without a new building, and how it could handicap students applying to colleges. They raised the need for a new middle school, which would be sited at the old Revere High once students move to Wonderland. One recent graduate offered statistics about how community investment in education raises property values. But pro-high school residents were not the only ones to weigh in. One disabled resident spoke about skyrocketing tax and water bills and wondered how he could pay any more. An East Mountain Avenue resident spoke about living through the construction of two new schools and problems with traffi c and speeding in the neighborhood. A concerned father questioned if there were mental health or substance abuse recovery programs around the Wonderland site. He said the city needs to keep students safe. Mayor Brian Arrigo and High School Senior Project Manager Brian Dakin presented some nuts and bolts of a fi nancial plan to the committee. The new revised total cost of the school at Wonderland has been reduced from $499 million to $470.6 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) reimbursement is expected to be $180 million or 38 percent. ReGERRY VISCONTI Councillor-at-Large vere’s portion of the tab will be $290.2 million. Dakin said the School Building Committee was able to save $7.5 million in value engineering, aka cuts to the project. Lighting for the tennis court has been eliminated for about $1 million in savings. Dakin did not go into detail about other cuts; however, he did say there was nothing eliminated that would aff ect academic programing. Arrigo presented a slate of ideas to fund a high school stabilization fund to help pay for the bond for the school, particularly by 2028, when payments will be $17 million a year. Throughout his presentation, Arrigo continually stressed that the city is looking at strategies that do not require an override. Arrigo’s plan included channeling 30 percent of Revere’s free cash or annual budget surplus to the Stabilization Fund. Also included in the plan are 50 percent of all building permit fees from Suffolk Downs and 50 percent of any funds from auctions held as a result of foreclosures. The city would also tap the Education and Technology Fund, which is generated by a fee on cable service, and the community investment fund, which is a fund developers pay into to mitigate the eff ects of development projects. The mayor also proposed capping increases in city and school spending to 4 percent. FUNDING | SEE Page 18
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