Who are we as a community?
BY MARIA GLASER
I am a 79 year old retiree, living in Cape Elizabeth 43 years; I wholeheartedly endorse Option E.
Chief among reasons we chose to relocate to Cape Elizabeth was the quality of the school system. I believe public schools create the backbone of our society. It was important to my husband and me that we live among people who support public schools and were willing to pay property taxes commensurate with high quality education.
Attending School Building Advisory Committee meetings these past months is disappointing. Rather than evaluating the options on educational needs expressed by the faculty and staff, the overwhelming consideration of the 5 member majority is to keep taxes as low as possible, cobbling together a plan of PARTIAL renovation and addition to an already outdated, cumbersome, poorly maintained hodgepodge of buildings
Of 17 towns in Cumberland County, Cape has the LOWEST tax rate; this in a town with a median housing price of $700+ thousand dollars. We also have the highest percentage of senior citizens, hence an expenditure of $875,000 for Pickleball Courts. As a senior citizen, I applaud the School Board for rejecting Option B and moving forward with a plan based on educational requirements.
I also urge the town council, which meetings also disappoint, to be more responsible; to undertake long term planning for maintenance and replacement of aging facilities, community wide, with an accent on “green” construction.
Who are we as a community, if we abandon our children’s needs?
In the news…
I had the privilege of co-chairing the School Building Advisory Committee. I wanted to be involved because I believe in the strength of public education, and wanted to roll up my sleeves and help address our school's needs…. [and] I am voting to support the school bond.
In 1973, we were blessed to move to Cape Elizabeth and find our first home on Cherry Circle. We raised our four children in Cape both as working parents… both of us are 80 years old and we know that we may not see the long-term investment of the school bond come to fruition.
I joined the SBAC to share my experience as an architect who has worked on 50+ school design projects.
The design process, led by our industry leading Architect and Owner's Project Manager, was meticulous and transparent.
The October 2, 2024 issue of The Cape Courier featured stories from Middle Ground supporters in the community. Did you find them all?
As a newcomer to Cape Elizabeth, I feel it’s important to share my experience with the last school bond vote. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I got duped by all the glossy mailers…
Jeffrey Shedd shares, "I voted AGAINST the last school buildings proposal. I will vote FOR the middle ground proposal.
I have been impressed with the process and communication throughout the latest planning work. Based on many visits to the middle school, I can say unequivocally: it’s a mess."
My support for the bond comes from my professional perspective, as someone who has spent 20 years in the commercial real estate industry, the last 16 spent as a developer in Portland. I thought I would share some of my insights here, because, as both a taxpayer and real estate developer, I’m impressed with the process and the resulting compromise proposal.
People from all perspectives (parents, grandparents, teachers, people with fixed incomes, and long-time Cape residents) spoke about how they had doubts during the last referendum and how their opinion on the need for a new school has evolved since then. Thanks to an inclusive and thoughtful planning process, our community can see and understand the need for a new middle school
As a former Maine Public School Educator and retired senior citizen of Cape Elizabeth, I implore all members of our voting community to urge our Town Council to put forward the Middle Ground School Building Project so we may vote in November to give our children the school facilities they so desperately require and deserve.
I am a 79 year old retiree, living in Cape Elizabeth 43 years; I wholeheartedly endorse Option E. Who are we as a community, if we abandon our children’s needs?
I think we can all agree that our children shouldn’t have to pay the price in our place. I consider myself very fortunate to live on a street and in a community where neighbors step up and take care of each other, during power outages, storms and everyday life.
The town should start saving now, in this year’s budget, for its infrastructure needs — like the schools. Also, we should establish infrastructure funds to save for our future needs, together with a sensible municipal bonding plan. Let’s put our values back in our budget.