LETTER: Wilmington Senior Explains Why She Is A ‘No’ Vote For New School Proposal, Calls “Baloney”

Dear Editor,

Did you ever have one of those dreams where you see a terrible accident about to happen and you’re powerless to stop it? That’s how I feel as a “NO” vote in the upcoming debate about the new school.

I’m almost 70 years old. Wilmington has been my home for most of my life, and I’ve happily voted to build many schools and municipal buildings. This one is a mistake.

Please think very carefully about this project, in which the proponents want you to vote to increase your taxes by a MINIMUM of $500 for the next 30 years. Keep in mind, that increase is only for the school. It does not include the regular increase of 2.5% in taxes you’ll be asked for year after year at subsequent Town Meetings to pay for Wilmington’s portion of the Shawsheen Tech, a new fire substation in North Wilmington, and the ever-increasing operating expenses, such as equipment and salaries, for all of the existing departments in Town Hall and School Administration.

Baloney is a fatty meat and it’s known to be unhealthy to consume. There’s so much baloney in the presentations I’ve seen regarding this new school, it makes me gag. We can all agree that a school should be a place of learning. I don’t believe, however, that the bigger the school, the more and better learning takes place. There are reasons kids have been separated into primary, intermediate, middle, and high school in the first place. Their needs and behaviors are different. Why push them together now? We’re told that it’s hard on kids when they graduate and have to transfer from one school to another. Seriously?

We’re told that this project makes the most sense economically because the state is giving Wilmington $62 million dollars towards construction. The estimated cost, before overruns, is $173 million dollars. And then, in ten years or so while we’re still paying for this one, we’ll build another giant school on the west side of town so those kids can also have a better education. I’m guessing it’ll go behind the Shawsheen School, on the fields.

Please go to Town Meeting on Saturday and vote against this project. Thank you.

Debra Russo