MEDFORD, Mass. — Medford residents told the City Council on Tuesday that the planned renovation and partial replacement of Medford High School costs too much, as the council laid out a timeline that ends with a citywide vote on a debt exclusion in June 2027.

The council took up a resolution from Council President Zac Bears and Vice President Emily Lazzaro approving a joint press release on the project from the mayor's office, the council and the School Committee. The resolution says the building committee finalized the project's scope as of Oct. 6 and reduced its estimated cost by $150 million from the first estimate of the chosen option. It also calls for a presentation at a Feb. 2, 2027, joint meeting of the School Committee and City Council.

The draft release puts the total cost "just below $700 million," with the state paying an estimated $226 million through the Massachusetts School Building Authority and the city about $474 million, repaid over 30 years through a debt exclusion, Boston North News reported.

Timeline for voters

Bears said the cost impact on taxpayers will be presented Feb. 2. In early March, the council would vote on whether to put a debt exclusion on the ballot, after schematic design is complete and the state building authority decides its share. "So this will be the voter's decision in June," Bears said.

Bears said a debt exclusion "is necessary to pay for it," and that city officials are looking at other ways to ease the impact on taxpayers, including federal and state grants on top of the state building authority grant and using future new property tax growth to help repay the bonds.

Residents push back

One resident said that "at just below $700 million, it seems way overpriced," and compared the project's cost per student with high school projects in Lexington and Revere. Medford High is expected to serve 1,395 students, the resident said.

A West Medford resident said taxpayers are expected to cover about $500 million. "It should be pretty clear to all of us that this is far beyond our means as a city," the resident said, calling the press release "premature" and pointing to a planned $2.4 million teen health center as an example of what could be cut.

Another resident, who said the household lives on one income, said a debt exclusion that raised taxes by $1,000 or more would push the family toward the low-income bracket. Another speaker said many residents wrongly believe the tax increase would last only five years.

Not every speaker opposed the plan. One parent with a child in the Medford schools said a modern building would draw young families to the city and grow the tax base.

Councilor Justin Tseng said the high school building is "one of the toughest challenges that we have to address as a city," and said the press release shows officials coming together around one vision despite political disagreements.