‘Renovating a crumbling school is foolish’

BY BEN HAGOPIAN

Over the past few weeks, community members and elected officials have worked to craft a new school bond proposal that addresses concerns about safety, costs and improvements to Cape schools.

Yet, a vocal group of neighbors continues to provide disingenuous criticisms and prevent any meaningful investment. Their strategy is clear: propose financially irresponsible alternatives and undermine any person or process that contradicts their anti-education agenda.

They’ve attacked architects, the nonpartisan owners’ representative—whose job it is to advocate for Cape taxpayers—and school board and town council members. They first claimed the previous bond was too expensive, but now they complain that the new version cuts too much. Which is it? And that’s the answer: Their bottom line is that nothing will ever be good enough and they will continue to find holes in any plan or expert, all in an attempt to keep their taxes low and ensure nothing meaningful is done.

Renovating a crumbling school is foolish. Multiple independent experts have stated our middle school has reached the end of its useful life. If we renovate, we’ll still need a new middle school in as few as 10 years—forcing Cape into another tax hike, decades before the first 30 year bond is paid off. I certainly can’t afford to pay twice in my time here.

It’s time to bring the new school bond to a vote. This is the best thing for our taxpayers because our town has been told repeatedly: The longer we wait, the more expensive it gets.