Cape Elizabeth residents will return to the polls on June 10 to again weigh in on a multi-million dollar proposal to replace and repair the town’s aging middle and elementary schools.
Three years in the making, the proposal that voters will see on the ballot in less than a month represents a pared down version of what residents narrowly rejected last year.
The $94.7 million “Middle Ground School Project Design” bond was shot down by just 166 votes, representing only 2.47 percent of those who turned out to the polls.
[RELATED: Cape Elizabeth Voters Narrowly Reject Proposal to Construct New Middle School]
After going back to the drawing board, the price tag on the proposal being sent to residents this June is $86.5 million, representing roughly an $8.2 million reduction.
According to an impact table provided on the Cape Elizabeth School Department website, this would result in a 12.3 percent property tax hike over the course of several years, with residents expecting anywhere between a 1.3 and 2.8 percent increase in a given year.
For a home valued at $750,000 this would range from a $72 to $154 increase at any one time, with no changes scheduled for 2026 or 2033.
More details on the projected impact of this proposal can be seen in the graphic below.
In paring down the plan initially put forward on the November 2024 ballot, several major changes were made.
Plans no longer include the installation of a backup heating system, as the primary all-electric system is designed to work in temperatures as low as -10 degrees.
Costs were also cut by making square footage reductions in areas such as the locker rooms, cafeteria, and hallway spaces.
Additionally, there were originally plans to construct a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Space in Pond Cove Elementary School, but this has since shifted to a renovation of the current nurses office and conference room to accommodate STEM programming.
Other less tangible changes include removing the 1934 building from the scope of the project and identifying certain items that can be addressed using the existing established repair and maintenance budget.
Getting the revised bond before Cape Elizabeth voters as soon as possible was a high priority for many local officials, despite off-cycle elections typically having lower turnout, as waiting until the November ballot was estimated to potentially cost taxpayers an extra $1 million over the life of the project.
The Town Council vote to place the bond on the June 10 ballot was 5-2, with some hoping to wait until later this year to again put this project before the public.
Residents of Cape Elizabeth will be able to make their voices heard on this proposal when they go to the ballot box on June 10.
