To the editor:
Lincoln has reached a critical juncture. Our school is in need of a serious upgrade, having had no real work done on the buildings since 1994. Add to this the consideration that education has also developed since that time. We must think seriously about designing educational spaces that embody teaching strategies that respond to 21st-century needs.
We have been making a concentrated effort to respond to the challenges. After the 2012 project did not succeed, the town’s leadership promised that when the town was ready to choose the scope and budget of a new school project, the choice would rest with the citizens of Lincoln. The current School Building Committee (SBC) worked to bring 5 choices to the town, and on June 9, we came together as a community and gave overwhelming support to the “L3” design which comprehensively renovates the existing school, provides significant upgrades to the “bones of the school,” transforms many of the educational spaces needed to have our children thrive, and will be one of the first “net zero” school renovations in Massachusetts.
The SBC has worked diligently since May 2017 on the school project. It has met 44 times and invested countless hours on this important community project. We are proud of the work of our design team and owners’ project manager, and we are grateful for the dedication of the many liaisons from other committees and to the members of the public who have consistently engaged in the process. The proposed solution embodies the latest thinking by educators, an approach which has demonstrated its results at the now completed Hanscom Middle School. This design incorporates a series of hubs or neighborhoods at each grade level to encourage flexibility for our teachers, creating a collaborative and enthusiastic learning environment for our children.
Lincoln residents, not the SBC or town leadership, chose the $93.9 million budget for the project at the June 9, 2018 Special Town Meeting. This budget is in line with recent school construction/renovation costs for projects in the greater Boston area, when adjustments are made for the size and time of the various school projects. The town has reduced the amount of necessary bonding for the project from $93.9 million to $88.5 million through the use of $4.4 million from the stabilization fund and $1 million from free cash. The SBC has also collaborated with the Assessors, the Council on Aging, the Finance Committee, and the Board of Selectmen to publicize all the available tax deferral and mitigation programs, and to expand those, such as the Senior Tax Work-off Program, over which the town has direct control.
In each generation, Lincoln has invested in its schools—and this is the time to do so again. Our community has an opportunity to move forward with a project that balances innovative educational spaces, sustainability, and respect for our history and our strong civic tradition. We do not take the financial impact on our community lightly, and we know that it is not an easy decision for our fellow citizens. We do believe this project provides significant value for the investment, and we hope that we will come together on this final step and vote to move the town forward. Please join us in voting “yes” both at the Special Town Meeting on December 1 and at the ballot on December 3. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The Lincoln School Building Committee
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.