Option B [renovation] is ‘an imperfect vessel’

Written By Cape Elizabeth

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 MICHAEL YOUNG

I live in Cape Elizabeth and currently have two kids at CEHS, and both my wife and I work in the schools. This is actually quite rare. It's hard for educators to afford Cape. With these school building proposals, it will be even more difficult to do so. Therefore, I agree with the supporters of option B in that I don't want my taxes to increase significantly.

However, our schools are in dire need of investing. It is fiscally and morally irresponsible to ignore this fact. So, those that support building a new school are also correct. Option E offers not only necessary repairs, but meets nearly all of the educational goals the SBAC was supposed to consider, which are largely ignored by option B. The renovations and new construction in this option will have a negligible impact on the actual education of our students, for the price of $77-85 million. This short-sighted thinking will not only leave our school buildings in even more dire straits, but will leave me and future generations paying more in the end.

So, while I don’t want a more expensive option, I would NOT support option B, or any other educationally irresponsible and short-sighted use of my tax dollars. Option B is merely an imperfect vessel for those that want to say they support schools, but don’t want to pay for them. Let’s reduce the scope of option E, bring its tax impact under 10% and at least get something for our hard-earned money. 

 

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