Tough Choices Ahead for School Solution

Tough Choices Ahead for School Solution

By Charlie Peters, School Building Advisory Committee Chair

We have a special contributor for this edition's Council Corner. Charlie Peters is Chair of the School Building Advisory Committee. Town Council liaisons to the committee, April Sither and Bill Donovan, invited him to share his thoughts on the current committee work.

As the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC) enters the month of June, we find ourselves facing some very hard choices. We’ve been studying the problem, the scope of work needed, and listening to the community to understand what folks want and how much they’re willing to spend.  And to be honest, the last survey left us scratching our heads a little. The survey responses showed a preference for smaller neighborhood schools. But when people took the operating costs into account, the consolidated school had near equal support as the small school option. Respondents also clearly want the cost of the project to come below $130M – in fact, there were quite a few comments asking us to get the price down to $100M. But in the same survey over 60% of people rejected cost cutting measures like deferments and scope reductions. It seems the community wants to have its cake and eat it too.  

On the heels of the survey results, we also learned that the preferred site has soil issues that could increase the cost of the project by millions. This new information has us looking back at sites and options that we had previously eliminated. We are still committed to finding the best solution at the best price possible.  

This leaves the SBAC in a precarious situation. We owe the School Board and Town Council a recommendation at the end of June.  But there is no easy answer; we currently have five schools (Pleasant Hills, Eight Corners, Blue Point, Wentworth, and the Middle School) that are all undersized for Scarborough’s population. My son eats lunch in the Middle School lobby because the cafeteria is too small to seat everyone. The entire 6th grade is in a portable with one toilet each for boys and girls. Bathrooms at the primary schools double as storage rooms. Students with special needs have to be bussed out of their neighborhood schools, because there isn’t space for equal services at all schools. The scope of the problem requires a full solution that addresses the needs at all five schools.  

And this is a long-term decision – one that the town will have to live with for decades. The decision in front of the SBAC, and ultimately the voters, will impact every student, and every taxpayer in our town. We are keenly aware of the tax impacts of a project of this magnitude. We are also aware of the harsh reality that building materials and construction costs are not going to get cheaper in the future. Finding the right solution at the right cost, and getting a solution passed in November is imperative. The SBAC is committed to doing just that. We will continue to scrutinize estimates, reduce scope where it makes sense, look at creative land options, and listen to the community feedback.  

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Scarborough Town Council.