The Town of Cape Elizabeth is now considering two separate proposals aimed at addressing the aging buildings that currently house their public schools.
Earlier this summer, the School Board unanimously approved an $89.9 million “Middle Ground School Project Design” following two years of deliberation by the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC).
This proposal includes plans for a new middle school, as well as a number of essential upgrades to the elementary and high schools.
Just prior to this endorsement, members of the public had “overwhelmingly” expressed support for the proposal during a public forum.
“This compromise is the culmination of over a year and a half of work to gather data and input on the best way to address the ailing school buildings and the barriers to education that they present,” the Town wrote in a press release.
“With a price tag more than $26 million lower than the previously proposed construction project in 2022, Harriman architect Lisa Sawin produced the Middle Ground design to address the highest priority needs of the schools at a cost the community has signaled it would support,” they said.
“The Board wanted consensus and compromise, but would not compromise on education. This approach achieves exactly that. This is a major step forward for our schools and our town,” said School Board Chair Elizabeth Scifres.
Click Here to Read the Town’s Full Press Release
During a July 8 meeting, Town Council Chair Timothy Reiniger asked for a public hearing to be scheduled, however, to consider an alternative $42 million proposal that would only to make “critically needed building repairs and renovations” to the school buildings.
Aside from the specific inclusion of a “building security upgrade to front entry” of both the elementary and middle schools, the proposal was not accompanied by any particular plans or designs.
On Thursday, July 18, the School Board held a Special Meeting to review recent site plan modifications and clarify aspects of the SBAC’s $89.9 million proposal. During this same meeting, the Board discussed Reiniger’s $42 million alternative.
The School Board went on to vote unanimously in opposition to supporting the less expensive option. School Board member Caitlin Sweet was absent from the meeting.
School Board Vice Chair Philip Saucier noted concerns that Reiniger’s proposal does not contain a specific project and was not subjected to a “process.”
“One of my biggest challenges is that there is no project for us to consider,” Vice Chair Saucier said. “I am particularly concerned that it [$42M proposal] didn’t go through any process.”
“I know that it’s very important for the board to have a lot of open and transparent processes. We do everything in the open,” he continued.
“We’ve had SBAC; we have joint committees and joint meetings,” said Saucier. “I have no idea where this came from, and more importantly, the community hasn’t participated in it.”
Click Here to Read the Town’s Full Update from the July 18 Meeting
According to the Portland Press Herald, Board member Cynthia Voltz — who also co-chaired the SBAC –said that “early concepts that were within this budget range were discarded by the SBAC and there wasn’t any work or any survey support, in the survey we did in the spring, that aligned with this budget range.”
In a statement published Tuesday, Reiniger provided some additional context for his proposal, citing the source of his figures and clarifying his intent in advancing a less expensive option.
“This proposal, which would represent a 5% tax increase, is not meant to undermine or take away from the School Board’s proposed new middle school, but rather to provide a minimum alternative should town citizens prefer a smaller tax impact,” Reiniger said.
For comparison, the “Middle Ground” proposal is expected to necessitate an estimated 10 percent property tax increase.
Reiniger goes on to explain that the $42 million figure was derived from estimates calculated and used by Harriman Architects earlier in the planning process.
“Throughout the SBAC review process, Harriman consistently put forward $10 million for the elementary school, $10 million for the middle school and $16 million for the high school (also known as Option A),” Reiniger said.
He further explains that the new entrances were estimated to cost $2,450 each, totaling $4,900 and that the remaining $6 million in his proposal represents “a small contingency amount.”
In total, the alternative proposal would earmark $13 million for the elementary school, $13 million for the middle school, and $16 million for the high school.
Click Here to Read Reiniger’s Full Statement
A public hearing on both of these proposals will be held on Monday, July 29 in the Council Chambers at 7pm.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="29356 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=29356">1 Comment
Cape Elizabeth will get whatever money they need Meanwhile, RSU 40 has 7 decrepit buildings that need water system and septic replacement, roofs, asbestos remediation, etc. Of course, our leftist school board is more concerned with gender indoctrination, so there is that to give the kids a great experience.