Won’t vote for Option B [renovation]
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 GINA AND LEE MITGANG
So what will we get for the Option B plan approved by a 5-4 vote of the School Building Advisory Committee? Tens of millions of dollars wasted on patchwork repairs. Years of disruption for children and teachers who’ll be forced into temporary classrooms during that work. Collaborative educational benefits that would be possible in a new middle school passed up. And the certainty that we’ll be facing many of the same festering issues in six to ten years, only with a much higher price tag.
To be clear, we share the oft-voiced concerns about the added tax burdens from any construction plan. But doesn’t the strong support for Option E in the latest voter survey mean that the SBAC’s herculean efforts to inform voters about the various options have changed enough minds among previously skeptical Capers to give the far wiser, more cost-effective Option E a fighting chance next November?
As seniors, we therefore stand with the many parents and others who say they won’t vote for option B or any proposal that just provides expensive temporary fixes for our aging schools. We call on the School Board and Town Council to reject Option B and instead put some form of Option E on the ballot in November.
In the news…
