Editor:

I am writing about the proposed South Portland High School bond. I may
make some of my friends and people I know and love a little annoyed but
I still love you.

No one will disagree that the High School Facilities Committee has
worked very hard and for quite a long time on coming up with the
current proposed plan for renovations and additions to the high school.
I don’t, however, understand why the plan that has been brought forth
is on the impractical side.

When you look at the plans, only about $7.5 million is for renovations.
The rest of the $56 million is for additions and new athletic fields
and the resulting need for new runoff accommodations. That’s $48.5
million for new building and underground utilities, etc.

Personally, that’s way too much money to ask the people of this town to
fork over. Our town is already about $29 million in debt. Then to add
$56 million plus interest brings us to $85 million plus interest. I
want to remind you that the current population of South Portland is
only about 23,000 people. That would be about $4,000 per person, plus
interest. That’s every man, woman and child owing that money.

Those people who are proponents of the current school bond tell us it
will only raise our property taxes by about $5,000 over the 20-year
period of the bond. Or about $300 per household per year. That would be
on top of our current debt and any future debt the city would take on.
Does anyone really think our taxes would go down after the bond is paid
off? Not likely. Especially considering that this will not be the one
and only bond proposed over the next 20 years.

We do not need fake turf. It is not a one time cost either. Fake turf
comes with a parcel of new maintenance problems and costs. Fake turf
has to be decontaminated because it has a tendency to develop bacteria
that is quite unhealthy. That costs a fair amount of money and
time.  If you talk to the maintenance people and coaches of
schools that have fake turf they will tell you it is a lot of extra
maintenance.

Besides, we were told when we voted for the purchase and development of
Wainwright Fields that that was going to be the big solution to space
and quality of athletic fields for the schools. Well, with poor
landscape architectural planning and layout of the fields, no one wants
to use them for high school sports. There is no convenient way to get
to the back of the fields and no lights back there, etc. Why else would
the School Facilities Committee want new athletic fields at the high
school?

Were we sold a bill of goods on that one?

When the auditorium and cafeteria were being built, I remember parents
whose kids were at the high school at the time telling the school board
and city council that the cafeteria would not be big enough. Well,
guess what’s on the list of proposed new construction? A new cafeteria
and kitchen because the current cafeteria is not big enough.

The girls’ showers in the locker room have been broken since the 1970s.
Why? What is so broken about them? Why are maintenance problems like
this one not being allowed to be fixed?

Not being one to simply criticize and complain, I have a suggestion.

If the School Facilities Committee and the school board put out a plan
with necessary renovations and do away with the wish list, showplace
school building the people of this town would probably approve it.
After all, the schools do need work. Making the buildings pretty and
having the newest, cool features will not improve education. What the
schools need is functional space.

Next year the plans for Memorial Middle School will probably come out
and that will be another big chunk of money that the school facilities
committee and the school board are going to ask for. That means the
$200 to $300 per year on our property taxes will go up another $200 to
$300 per year.

Vote “No” on the current high school bond.

Kandi-Lee Hoy

South Portland