By Ryan Costello, ’27

Staff Writer

It is no secret that the South Shore Technical School is growing outdated. The Webster Street building is more than 60 years old and can’t serve all of the students who want to attend. With the trades currently facing a shortage of skilled workers, a new, modernized vocational school could be filled with more students than ever before as well as new programs of study. Thanks to a recent vote, that new building is coming soon.

Opened in 1962, the school has an enrollment of 685 students and a considerable number of students on a waiting list. The school offers programs in Automotive, Culinary Arts, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Electrical, Design & Visual Communications, Computer Information Technology, HVAC-R, Allied Health, Advanced Manufacturing Electric Technology, Metal Fabrication/Welding, and Horticulture & Landscape Construction. Students from nine towns can attend the school: Abington, Cohasset, Hanover, Hanson, Marshfield, Norwell, Rockland, Scituate, and Whitman. 

Why a new build?

Building a new school would mean an increase in taxes for residents of the nine towns it serves, but advocates of the plan argued that renovations would have a poor long-term value. A renovation would require up to four years of construction, which would mean four years of noise, learning disruptions, parking constraints and traffic impacts. New programs such as plumbing and veterinary science couldn’t happen in a renovated facility without closing other programs. A new facility would allow an enrollment of up to 900 students each year, over 200 more than currently served, as well as the expansion of programs.

On January 25, the $276 million project to build a new South Shore Technical High School received overwhelming approval, with 78 percent of voters in support. In Hanover, 80 percent of voters approved the plan. The state will reimburse the towns an estimated $100 million of the cost. The new building will be constructed on the playing fields behind the current facilty, allowing the school to remain open during construction. Groundbreaking is set for April 2026, with hopes that the new building will open for the 2028-2029 school year.