BROCKTON — The city celebrated when Brockton High finally won a coveted invitation to a state program that would pay up to 80% of the cost to renovate or rebuild the school.
A grant that would pay $8 for every $2 Brockton spends sounds hard to walk away from for a project estimated to cost upwards of a billion dollars. But city councilors might do just that.
One veteran councilor said it was “heartbreaking” to consider not supporting the effort.
“This is what we wanted,” said Ward 7 Councilor Shirley Asack, “but we’re not in the right place to accept it.”
Voicing a widespread sentiment among the elected officials who’d have to sign the checks, Ward 4 Councilor Susan Nicastro said she needs to know the facts about why Brockton Schools spent up to $20 million more than budget in fiscal 2023 and an unknown deficit from fiscal 2022.
“I do support this in theory,” Nicastro said, “but first we must get our house in order.”
Brockton is in the early phases of the grant program. The next step would be for the city to put up $2.5 million for a feasibility study. That was the specific issue city leaders debated Monday, Feb. 5 at the city council’s finance committee.