Parents ‘are breathing easier’
Please note: This letter reflects opinions regarding the November 2024 “Middle Ground” school referendum. It does not represent the current 2025 Cape Elizabeth school proposal which is an updated and revised version.
BY EVELYN GURR
During the School Board meeting on May 21 the architect showed, for the first time, a picture of rows of trailers lining Scott Dyer Road and explained the full impact of what remodeling the schools would mean, and my heart sank. After years of COVID interruption, I couldn't fathom compounding kids’ disruption by putting them in a trailer for years when other options are available. I also worried about the teachers and principals who spoke at the meeting about the hardships they would face in trailers. Would they burn out and leave our district?
However, when I walked out of the meeting later that night, I felt more hopeful than I have in a long time. It was clear in the School Board's discussion that they are putting the education, health and safety of students first. The school board decided not to continue with an option put forward by the SBAC that would cause 100% disruption to learning. They know kids and teachers in trailers is not the way forward.
Instead, they will carry out their elected duty to find a solution that puts students' needs first, while also keeping the tax burden low. Parents, like me, are breathing easier knowing our children, many still recovering from the pandemic, won't necessarily spend their next years in trailers piled up along Scott Dyer Road.
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