Cape Elizabeth Town Council Sends $94.7 Million School Improvement Plan to Voters, Rejects $42 Million Alternative

The Cape Elizabeth Town Council has voted unanimously to put a $94.7 million school improvement plan on the ballot in November.

This includes the $89.9 million “Middle Ground School Project Design” developed after two years of deliberation by the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC), as well as a $4.8 million addition proposed by Chairman Tim Reiniger that would preserve part of the existing middle school. The town has not yet decided, however, how this property would be used in the future.

The Middle Ground proposal includes plans to construct a new middle school, as well as to make a number of essential upgrades to the elementary and high schools.

A note will be printed on the ballot clarifying that the Council — by a vote of 4-3 — does not recommend the passage of this proposition by voters.

Rejected by the Council was Chairman Reiniger’s $42 million alternative that represented a pared back version of this proposal that would only make “critically needed building repairs and renovations” to the school buildings instead of constructing an entirely new building.

While the Middle Ground plan has been estimated to raise property taxes by about ten percent, Reiniger’s proposal would have cut this figure in half, increasing taxes by roughly five percent.

As a result of the Town Council’s vote Monday night, Reiniger’s alternative plan will not appear on the ballot this November.

The town held a public hearing at the end of July in order to solicit public feedback on these proposals. This meeting ended up lasting about three hours and included primarily in-person testimony from fifty-five residents.

According to a press release from the town, just over eighty percent of the comments shared were in support of the $89.9 million proposal. One of these speakers offered remarks in favor of the Middle Ground proposal on behalf of 465 residents who signed a letter that had been delivered to the Council.

[RELATED: Cape Elizabeth to Hold Public Hearing on Two Proposals Aimed at Addressing Aging Public School Buildings]

Mid-July, the Cape Elizabeth School Board voted unanimously in opposition to supporting Reiniger’s $42 million alternative. School Board member Caitlin Sweet was absent from that 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.”

In a statement published around this same time, 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.

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.

During the Town Council’s meeting on Monday, August 12, the Council voted 4-3 in opposition to placing Reiniger’s alternative proposal on the ballot. Councilors Susan Gillis, Timothy Tompson, and Reiniger voted in support of the measure.

Much of the public comment offered with in support of this proposal focused on its ability to reduce the property tax burden residents will need to bear in order to fund critical facilities improvements at the town’s schools, with some characterizing it as a “safety net” should voters choose not to advance the more expensive option. Others emphasized that the estimates underlying this proposal were thoroughly vetted by architects earlier in the planning process.

Residents speaking in opposition to placing the pared-down proposal on the ballot argued that more extensive repairs are needed and that the costs associated with them will only continue to increase over time. Others underscored the significant amount of time and energy that has gone into developing the Middle Ground proposal over the past two years, contrasting that with the process by which this alternative was introduced.

The $94.7 million proposition — including the $89.9 million Middle Ground proposal and the $4.8 million preservation plan — was, by contrast, sent to the ballot unanimously by councilors.

During the public comment period, however, a number of residents strongly urged the Councilors to separate these two proposals so that they could be considered and voted on independently by residents.

Councilor Penelope Jordan echoed this sentiment, and Councilor Caitlin Harriman put forward an amendment to separate the $4.8 million preservation plan from the larger Middle Ground proposal.

Much of the council members’ discussion of this amendment focused on the lack of specific plan for the future of the current middle school building, suggesting that the funding would effectively amount to a blank check.

Those in support of the $4.8 million proposal argued that no matter what is ultimately decided with respect to the building’s future, money will need to be spent on securing the structure should it ultimately no longer house the town’s middle school.

This motion failed by a vote of four to three, in which Councilors Stephanie Anderson, Gillis, Thompson, and Reiniger voted in opposition. As a result of this, the $94.7 million project was sent to the ballot as a single, unified proposal.

Councilors went on to vote 4-3 in favor of printing a message on the ballot clarifying that the Council does not recommend the passage of this proposal by voters. The inclusion of this recommendation against approving the project was backed by Councilors Anderson, Gillis, Tompson, and Reiniger.

Cape Elizabeth residents will have the opportunity to make their voices heard on this $94.7 million school improvement package at the ballot box on November 5.

Click Here to Watch the Full Town Council Meeting