BREWER’S NEW SCHOOL

By building a new, centralized K-8 school, Brewer will improve education and save taxpayers money. A yes vote by Brewer residents on a set of referendum questions on Dec. 4 will move this needed project forward.

Currently, elementary-age children are spread among three smaller schools that the Maine Department of Education has deemed “unsatisfactory.” A fourth elementary school was closed in 2005 because of problems with the building’s roof. Those children attend classes in portable trailers. The city’s middle school is also outdated.

This should be enough to encourage city residents to support a new, consolidated school, but there are many more reasons.

With schools separated by grade, teachers and students are isolated from their peers in consecutive grades. Third-grade teachers, for example, could benefit by being able to go down the hall, rather than across town, to talk to a fourth-grade teacher. Specialists, too, will be able to spend more time in classrooms rather than on city streets going from one school to another.

The proposed new school will also reduce operating costs. Superintendent Dan Lee estimates yearly energy costs will drop by more than $50,000 because only one building, rather than four, will have to be heated and illuminated. The new school will also be energy-efficient and built with materials that reduce or eliminate environmental contaminants.

Staffing and transportation costs will also be lower by having students in one facility, and the new school will be located in a neighborhood where some students can walk or bike there.

The State Board of Education has already approved the project, with the state allocating more than $36.7 million for construction. Brewer residents will be asked Tuesday, through Question 2 on the ballot, to allow school trustees to obtain a bond to cover the state’s share of the cost, which will be repaid by the state, minus $133,000 to buy land for the school. Question 1 raises the school trustees’ bond limit, beyond an outdated $5 million ceiling, so the money can legally be borrowed.

Two remaining questions deal with a performing arts center that is proposed to be built as part of the school. Neither the high school nor the city itself currently has a venue for musical or theatrical performances, so this is a useful enhancement.

Approving Question 3 will allow the trustees to borrow $2.6 million for this part of the project, and Question 4 allows them to accept gifts toward its completion.

With so many benefits, educationally and financially, this project is worthy of voter support.