A WAY FORWARD FOR LINCOLN SCHOOL FACILITIES

In October, the Town of Lincoln must vote Yes or No to a new school building project. While the School Committee/School Building Committee (SC/SBC) will have provided us with a professionally developed plan for new/ renovated school buildings, this is not the only way for the Town to maintain its high standards of education. There exist other viable alternatives yet to be investigated fully to allow reasonable comparison.

In 2007, the town administration hired SMMA to perform an extensive review of the facilities; this process identified repair and renovation issues, but it did not indicate the need to replace any school buildings. Then in 2010, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) again inspected the Lincoln Schools. They rated the Lincoln School as a “1” (the best rating), saying, “The building is in good condition with few or no building systems needing attention” and “Potential future action is general maintenance”.

The $50 million proposed for this new building/renovation project is equivalent to about five years' school operating budgets. The fraction of required funding that may be matched by State funds remains uncertain. This capital commitment, the largest in our history, comes at a time when citizens are feeling pinched, state and federal funds are limited, and the Town faces major economic challenges.
In 2010, citizens at the town meeting voted to support and fund a feasibility study. This was expected by some to result in a spectrum of viable alternatives, including complete rebuild, repair/maintain, and hybrid options. While there exist MSBA matching fund programs for repairs of school facilities or for new building/major renovation of school facilities, a town must choose one option to pursue at a time. The School administration and the SC decided early in the process to pursue the MSBA matching program for new building/renovation. The SBC was chartered to pursue this new building/major renovation program. No group or committee was formed to address with equal thoroughness the range of facility repair options.

Further, proposed major facility changes have not been part of any integrated plan for town-wide budgets. A Capital Committee bylaw, requiring such large capital projects as this to be reviewed as part of the total town budget, will be voted on in March at town meeting.

Tax increases to pay for a massive re-building program could, among other adverse effects:
• drive away those already feeling the pinch from a weak economy, reducing economic and social diversity;
• crowd out worthy alternative capital project initiatives (e.g., Community Center);
• reduce financial flexibility to address known risks like Hanscom privatization/closure, take advantage of emerging opportunities for cost-matching, land acquisitions, and other risks and opportunities yet unknown;
• threaten to impose yet more stringent limits on school budgets. There can be no assurance that any new design will best meet future programmatic needs of students and teachers.

FOR ALL OF THESE REASONS, IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LINCOLN WAY - AN INCLUSIVE, OPEN PROCESS, WHICH CONSIDERS ALL OPTIONS AND CITIZEN CONCERNS -

WE INVITE YOU TO ADD YOUR SIGNATURE TO THIS PETITION.