A new tool for calculating an individual homeowner’s tax increase from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s (MVRHS) building project went live last Friday, clarifying how each town’s differing policies impact the cost burden on year-round residents.
The Times published the first look at tax burdens for all property owners in March based on data from UniBank and real estate prices in each town. But the tax calculator is a deeper look, showing residents their individual payments based on their own home’s value.
The Island-wide vote to approve or deny the $333.5 million project will take place on June 2, with millions in reimbursement funding on the line. It’s one of the most important milestones for the planned renovation and addition, which is nearly a decade in the making.
“It is important to us that everyone understands what this project means to the students, the staff, and the Island, and how much it is estimated to cost,” Mark Friedman, the school district business administrator, said in a statement to The Times.
Homeowners will be responsible for the cost long after a new high school is built. Construction is scheduled to finish in 2030 if approved by voters, but payments from taxpayers to cover the costs will continue and be spread out over the next 30 years.
The tax calculator is based on 2026 residential data from each town. It also assumes a 3.95 percent interest on a 30-year bond, according to Sam Hart, the director of operations at MVRHS. Hart said the calculator is undergoing updates to be as accurate as possible for homeowners.
“The intended purpose of the calculator is to help Island property owners (with and without the year-round exemption) understand the potential impact to their taxes using the assumptions provided by the district’s financial advisor,” Hart said. “We will update the tool as we work to refine those assumptions.”
Seasonal property owners will actually shoulder the most significant portion of the project. With about 60 percent of the Island’s housing stock considered vacant, or lived in for 2 months or less out of the year, more than half of the project will go to their annual tax bills.
But those same seasonal residents, who are largely unable to vote on the project come June if their primary address is elsewhere, will pay even more in towns with a residential tax exemption, which is a redistribution of tax burden away from year-rounders. The exemption was adopted in Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury, with Aquinnah considering it at its town meeting in May.
But year-rounders will still see additional tax on their annual bills, with the exact amount being dependent on the assessed value of their home. In towns with the residential tax exemption, the savings are substantial for a year-rounder, shaving off up to 30 percent of the cost in West Tisbury and 15 percent in Oak Bluffs.
The MVRHS building project will cost about $333.5 million, with an additional $47 million of interest over 30 years. The debt for the cost of the rebuilt school will be distributed in a near-equal amount over that time, with taxpayers paying significantly less for the first and last five years of payments. The building plan is for a net-zero, sustainable structure, like the Tisbury School, a project that hired some of the same design and construction companies as MVRHS. Solar panels are currently being installed at the Tisbury School to reduce electricity costs.
The total cost will also be eased by a $71 million reimbursement by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), a quasi-state organization that provides financial assistance to school building projects throughout Massachusetts. If the project is voted down on June 2 by voters, this reimbursement could be lost.
Michael Watts, who was highly involved in the Tisbury School renovation project as a school committee member, told The Times he’s familiar with exactly what that feels like. Tisbury taxpayers were shouldered with about $30 million more after just a few votes down resulted in a loss of MSBA reimbursement.
“A no vote does not take away the need,” Watts said.
One thing Watt gleaned from spearheading the Tisbury School effort is that small fixes only go so far. For the Tisbury School, a more comprehensive renovation was a cheaper alternative to constant repairs.
Watts pointed to the HVAC system in the regional high school, which needs to be upgraded regardless of this project, which he estimated would cost around $20 million alone. The mold in the building and asbestos under floorboards, as well as dated mechanical and electrical systems, all need to be remedied due to the health risks they pose to teachers and students, especially when flooding occurs.
There are also many programs that are slated for upgrades through the building project because the classroom sizes don’t meet state standards. The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Programs, like mechanical, cooking, horticulture, and early childhood education, are the most glaring examples, with spaces far below standards.
Islanders have raised inquiries for months about the size of the school, and whether the square footage can be reduced to save money, as the tax burden may have a huge impact on individuals and families across the Island, as costs rise for housing, groceries, gas, childcare among other necessities.
School committee members said the CTE programs are the reason for much of the square-footage increases, but cutting the programs would be a detriment to students, many of whom go into the trades, education, or hospitality after high school.
With construction costs on the Island about 30 percent higher than on the mainland, Watts said, the cost of these fixes is not going down. “It has to get done eventually,” he said.
All figures below were calculated through the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Building Project Tax Calculator, as well as through data from UniBank and property values from each town’s assessor. These figures are just one example of the payments for the high school project over the years, but Islanders’ actual tax burden will ultimately be based on their individual property values. Find out what you will pay at mvrhsbuildingproject.info/tax-calculator-home.
A year-round taxpayer in Tisbury with the median assessed residential property value of $1,312,000 (provided by Tisbury assessor Ann Marie Cywinski) will pay $580.07 annually in the peak years, between 2033 and 2058 — taking into account the decrease from the 22 percent residential tax exemption.
- Percentage of high school project costs: 22.9 percent
- Monetary value of the town’s share: $59,082,000
- 2026 residential tax rate in Tisbury: $7.42 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Increase on residential tax rate at peak, per year: $0.62 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Residential tax exemption: 22 percent, or $2,773 per year for qualifying year-round homeowners
For a $1.5 million home, which is the 2024 Island-wide median, a year-round taxpayer in Tisbury would pay $752.81 annually between 2033 and 2058, taking into account the 22 percent residential tax exemption.
The Tisbury School has completed a building project of its own, one that some school committee members working on the MVRHS building have said informs them, both of the missteps and victories in the process. It also landed taxpayers with a higher annual bill.
Representatives from multiple town boards in Tisbury have spoken out about the impact of the high school building project.
“We’re probably double any other municipality on this Island with tax burden,” Joe LaCivita, Tisbury town administrator, said in March.
A year-round taxpayer in Oak Bluffs with the median assessed residential property value of $1,084,100 (provided by Oak Bluffs assessor Dawn Barnes) will pay $477.65 annually in the peak years, between 2033 and 2058 — taking into account the decrease from the 15 percent residential tax exemption.
- Percentage of project costs: 22.89 percent
- Monetary value of the town’s share: $59,056,200
- 2026 residential tax rate in Oak Bluffs: $4.99 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Increase on residential tax rate at peak, per year: $0.52 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Residential tax exemption: 15 percent, or $995.83 a year
For a $1.5 million home, which is the 2024 Island-wide median, a year-round taxpayer in Oak Bluffs would pay $702.23 annually between 2033 and 2058, taking into account the 15 percent residential tax exemption.
Oak Bluffs is the town the regional high school is located in, which brings with it some important considerations from town representatives. To name a few: infrastructure, roads, wastewater, and environmental protections.
“The fact that the high school and really important infrastructure like the hospital [are here] is a really big deal,” Oak Bluffs Select Board member and school building committee member Emma Green-Beach said to The Times.
Wastewater alone is a big concern. The town has limited capacity, and Green-Beach said upgrades to wastewater systems are already happening in all down-Island towns to keep up with an increase in population and the challenges of so many properties being close to the water.
Dion Alley, former chair of the MVRHS building committee, resigned his post recently because of some of these considerations. Alley is also an Oak Bluffs Select Board member, and his term is up in 2026. Prior to running for the seat again, he decided to leave the school building committee.
“I’m making sure there’s no perceived conflict of interest in my role,” Alley told The Times.
But he said he’s confident in the plan the school building committee came up with — one he was a part of for the past four years.
A year-round taxpayer in Edgartown with the median assessed residential property value of $1,610,700 (provided by Edgartown assessor Patti Roads) will pay $467.10 annually in the peak years, between 2033 and 2058.
- Percentage of project costs: 30.13 percent
- Monetary value of the town’s share: $77,735,400
- 2026 residential tax rate in Edgartown: $2.48 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Increase on residential tax rate at peak, per year: $0.29 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Residential tax exemption: None
For a $1.5 million home, which is the 2024 Island-wide median, a year-round taxpayer in Edgartown would pay $435 annually between 2033 and 2058.
Edgartown has the second lowest tax rate on the Island, so its tax burden for the project, while a higher portion than some, will be less impactful to homeowners than the other down-Island towns.
They’re paying the highest portion of the project overall, but are more populated and able to spread out the cost.
A year-round taxpayer in West Tisbury with the median assessed residential property value of $1,484,850 (provided by West Tisbury assessor MacGregor Anderson) will pay $358.53 annually in the peak years, between 2033 and 2058 — taking into account the decrease from the 30 percent residential tax exemption.
- Percentage of project costs: 13.42 percent
- Monetary value of the town’s share: $34,623,600
- 2026 residential tax rate: $5.21 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Increase on residential tax rate at peak, per year: $0.40 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Residential tax exemption: 30% or $5,885.37
For a $1.5 million home, which is the 2024 Island-wide median, a year-round taxpayer in West Tisbury would pay $401.04 annually between 2033 and 2058, taking into account the 30 percent residential tax exemption.
As the town with the highest tax exemption, West Tisbury’s seasonal residents will shoulder the largest portion of the high school building project. But since the town has so many seasonal residents compared with their year-rounders, the impact to the tax bills will be distributed among more homeowners, easing the burden considerably.
Year-round residents in West Tisbury, as a result of this exemption, have some of the lowest tax bills on the Island and in the state.
A year-round taxpayer in Chilmark with the median assessed residential property value of $2,200,000 (provided by Chilmark assessor Pam Bunker) will pay $440 annually in the peak years, between 2033 and 2058.
- Percentage of project costs: 8.26 percent
- Monetary value of the town’s share: $21,310,800
- 2026 residential tax rate: $2.28 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Increase on residential tax rate at peak, per year: $0.20 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Residential tax exemption: None
For a $1.5 million home, which is the 2024 Island-wide median, a year-round taxpayer in Chilmark would pay $300 annually between 2033 and 2058.
Chilmark property values are the highest on the Island. It’s the only municipality to exceed $2 million with assessed values of existing properties. The town has a single tax rate, so year-rounders and seasonal residents will pay for the project in equal measure based on their individual home’s value.
A year-round taxpayer in Aquinnah with the median assessed residential property value of $1,550,400 (provided by Aquinnah assessor Harald Sheid) will pay $558.14 annually in the peak years, between 2033 and 2058.
- Percentage of project costs: 2.4 percent
- Monetary value of the town’s share: $6,192,000
- 2026 residential tax rate: $6.87 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Increase on residential tax rate at peak, per year: $0.36 per $1,000 of assessed value
- Residential tax exemption: None, but one is being proposed at 35 percent during this town meeting cycle
For a $1.5 million home, which is the 2024 Island-wide median, a year-round taxpayer in Aquinnah would pay $540 annually between 2033 and 2058.
Aquinnah voters may decide on a residential tax exemption of their own at their annual town meeting.
A 35 percent residential tax exemption will be proposed on May 12, according to Aquinnah Select Board member Tom Murphy. It would be the highest percentage on the Island so far, and would impact the cost burden of the high school building project substantially. If passed by voters, it could potentially mean thousands of dollars in annual tax reductions for year-round residents.
Aquinnah has some of the most stark seasonal changes, even if they may be less visible because of the smaller town center. When it comes to housing stock, a large portion is owned by seasonal residents.
Overall, Aquinnah has the lowest attendance at the high school. Its share of the project reflects that, but the costs are dispersed through a smaller population.
“It’s still a push to get the high school approved,” Murphy said to The Times. “I hope it does … I think it’s critically important for our children on the Island, but it’s still going to require support from a lot of entities going forward.”