Residents of Lewiston have a clear choice on Dec. 7 when they vote on two questions concerning the school: They can vote yes, and pay roughly $30,000 for a new elementary school. Or they can vote no and spend about $150,000 a year in repairs, replacing the antiquated school one piece at a time but never having a new, fully functional school.
It is a pretty simple choice.
Farwell is 52 years old. Its systems are failing, it is not large enough to accommodate its more than 300 students and the building isn’t safe.
Because the state has identified the need for a replacement as a high priority – 10th out of 92 projects in Maine – the city’s costs to replace Farwell would be minimal.
The new school would cost about $10.7 million to build. Of that total, Lewiston would be responsible for just $33,500. For such a small investment, the community gets a huge payoff.
Residents concerned about education and about the state paying its fair share of the costs should definitely vote yes on Question 1.
Question 2 may seem a bit trickier for some voters, but it shouldn’t. Question 2 asks for an additional local expenditure of about $566,187 (which would be $848,573, including the interest over 20 years) to add a larger gym to the proposed school.
The larger school gym is far from extravagant. It would be the size of a typical middle-school gym. What the community would get, however, would be a new public space for programs and activities, which is in great demand in the community.
As it stands, Farwell doesn’t meet state standards for the number of students it serves. Students don’t have a real library or gym and must make do with the halls and portable classrooms just to get by. Enough.
The new building would be suitable for up to 425 students, giving the school the space needed to grow. It would have room for full-day kindergarten and for pre-K programs that might develop in the future.
Question 1 and Question 2 present Lewiston with a great opportunity, which the city can’t afford to miss.
Vote yes on Questions 1 and 2.
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