EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an explainer supplied to The Colonial Times by the Yes for Our Schools Campaign.
EXPLAINER:
What You Should Know about the Bridge, Bowman, and Estabrook Projects
It’s looking like the Town is going to be asking voters to approve a debt exclusion in an election this January. The debt exclusion will fund renovations at Bridge and Bowman elementary schools, and construction of a new Estabrook School building. Here’s a quick run-down of the issues:
Why build a new Estabrook School now?
The Estabrook School building is contaminated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), which are substances that are known to cause cancer. The air quality has been brought under control for the time being. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requiring Lexington to remove these hazardous materials, but is allowing the Town time (three years) to construct a new school.
Why not simply remove the PCBs from the existing building?
To rid Estabrook of all PCBs will require the removal of every floor tile, every exterior wall, and the entire ceiling, leaving only steel beams, the roof deck, and the concrete floor. Rebuilding the facility would be financially tantamount to replacing the entire building and Lexington would bear 100% of the costs. Moreover, having nowhere else to go, Estabrook’s students will have to be reassigned to the other five elementary schools, causing overcrowded conditions until the completion of the new school.
If Lexington instead constructs a new building, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will subsidize approximately 32% of the costs of the project. That’s because the Massachusetts State Building Authority (MSBA) has accepted that the Estabrook situation is an emergency for which state funds are available. If Lexington decides to remove the PCBs rather than replace the building, the building won’t address current education needs, and the project is unlikely to qualify for state funding.
Besides being the fiscally prudent choice, another benefit to rebuilding rather than renovating Estabrook is that students will be able to stay in the old building while the new one is being built. There will be no need to reassign Estabrook students, and overcrowding at the other elementary schools will be avoided.
Okay, so it looks like the Estabrook situation is an emergency that needs to be addressed now. But wasn’t the plan all along to replace the building? And why is that?
Yes, under the 10-year master plan for Lexington’s elementary school buildings, Estabrook was identified as needing replacement.
Built in 1961 as an “open concept” school, the original Estabrook School design melded the progressive educational and architectural concepts of its day. Over the decades, however, the design has led to fractured and inadequate space needs that undermine communication, collaboration, flexible grouping, and teaming all critical features of 21st Century education models. In addition, the building is overcrowded and lacks a cafeteria and a real gymnasium. Children eat lunch in the hallway. The gym is so small; it functions more as a playroom.
The new plans will relieve overcrowding by enlarging the school’s capacity from 450 to 540 students, and by providing adequate art and music space, a properly sized gym, modern technology, a cafeteria, and a performance stage. Classrooms and instructional spaces will be designed and situated to support better teaching and learning. The plans will also provide for better security. The entire building and its systems will be clean, modern, up-to-date, and efficient.
Why should Bridge and Bowman be renovated now?
The Bowman and Bridge buildings are 45 years old. They are burdened by mechanical, environmental, and safety systems that have reached end of life expectancy and by lack of space: children participating in small group instruction and music programs are often taught in the hallways, and conference areas are inadequate. It is not possible to monitor visitor access to the building, given the current location of the main entrances.
The buildings themselves, however, are still structurally sound, and their usefulness can be extended for an additional 20-25 years. To extend the life of the buildings, mechanical and environmental systems must be replaced, upgrades must be made to better serve today’s educational programming, and safety and security improvements must be attended to.
Why can’t we build new schools for the Bridge and Bowman communities?
The state has severely limited reimbursing school districts for construction costs. In the past, the state covered up to 59% of the costs of building a new school. Given the significant demand for state funds by other communities, Bridge and Bowman are not eligible for any state reimbursement. If Lexington chooses to build two new schools, the cost would total approximately $75 million, with none of the cost reimbursed. In contrast, the cost of renovating two new schools will total approximately $22.7 million.
What are the plans for renovating Bowman and Bridge?
The plans for each school will extend the life of the buildings by 20-25 years, upgrade safety and security, relieve overcrowding, better support educational programs, reduce noise, and improve indoor air quality with the following:
- Four additional classroom/instructional spaces at each school
- Additional small educational space at each school
- Administrative space at entrances to enhance security
- New high-efficiency hot water boilers
- New HEPA-filtered HVAC systems with energy recovery
- New electrical service, lighting, and controls
- New sprinkler system
- New fire alarm system
- New IT infrastructure, phones, PA systems, and time systems
- Full compliance with access code
What will happen if we don’t renovate Bridge and Bowman and replace Estabrook?
Failure to undertake these needed projects will leave Bridge and Bowman to deteriorate and vulnerable to system failures and expensive remediation. The buildings will continue to lack important security and safety features and will inadequately support the education program. In addition, underground oil tanks are susceptible to leaks, unit ventilators are noisy and inefficient, there are no fire suppression systems, and the buildings lack universal accessibility.
In the case of Estabrook, EPA will still require the removal of all PCBs at great expense to Lexington with no state or federal reimbursement. In addition, the educational spaces in a new Estabrook School will be vastly superior to the current school an advantage that will be lost if the current building is not replaced.
How much will all this cost?
The Town is still finalizing the figures, but the Bowman/Bridge project is likely to cost about $22.7 million and will extend the life of the buildings up to 25 years. If Lexington were to replace, rather than renovate, both buildings, the total cost to Lexington would be approximately $75 million.
The cost of rebuilding Estabrook is estimated to be $37.5 million. The state will cover approximately 33% of the cost.
When will construction begin?
Both projects will go forward with minimal disruption to the schools.
For Bridge and Bowman: Preliminary work will begin during April vacation of 2012. Portions of the work will be done after school hours during the 2012 and 2013 school years. The bulk of the renovations will take place in summers of 2012 and 2013. The entire project will be completed in November 2013.
For Estabrook: It is anticipated that site work will be conducted during the summer of 2012 to establish new parking areas and circulation patterns for the construction phase. Construction would then begin during the fall or early winter of 2012 and be completed in the summer of 2014.
How will these projects be financed?
These projects require capital expenditures that will be financed through debt exclusion.
What is a debt exclusion?
Briefly, a debt exclusion is a temporary increase in property taxes to help a town to finance infrequent but necessary capital expenditures, such as the renovation of school buildings or other municipal facilities. It’s sort of like a family taking out a mortgage to buy a house.
Proposition 2 ½, the Massachusetts law that limits how much a town can raise property taxes annually, governs debt exclusions. If a debt exclusion would raise property taxes beyond Proposition 2 ½ limits, the town must hold an election asking voters to approve it. When voters approve a debt exclusion, the resulting tax increases remain in effect until the town pays back its debt.
What is the difference between a debt exclusion and an override?
An override permanently raises taxes to pay for a town’s operating budget.
A debt exclusion temporarily raises taxes to pay for necessary capital expenditures that are not part of the regular operating budget.
When will the debt exclusion election for these building projects take place?
The debt exclusion vote will take place in January 2012.
What will be the impact of the debt exclusion on my taxes?
Beginning in fiscal year 2014, the median property owner in Lexington ($599,000 home value) will see a tax increase of approximately $288 per year, to decline in future years.
What should I do if I want to support these projects?
You can support the plans by voting YES for the debt exclusion in January 2012.
