Cape built a school during the depression

BY ROB KRAUSER

In 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, Cape Elizabeth built a school. Despite being in the middle of one of the worst economic periods in history, the people of Cape Elizabeth came together and built a school because that was what was needed. They understood the value of education and did the right thing despite what was happening all around them.

With the current state of the national economy and our local municipal budget, we sit at a similar crossroads. Cape needs to build a new school. The No votes on the school bonds in 2022 and 2024 don’t change the needs. And despite some private citizens with no architecture experience trying to draft solutions, for various reasons it’s best to trust Harriman, who have literally been building in Maine since 1870.

Cape has known since at least 1993 that our school buildings would need to be replaced. The town has been studying the problem since 2017. We’ve hired experts, the real kind not the armchair ones, and they have a plan that will benefit generations of Cape kids. Despite turmoil all around us, we can and should work hard to control what happens in our town and do what’s right for Cape now and in the future.