I was a member of the Scarborough Town Council from 1996 to 2008. For six of these years I served as chairman of the Town Council. In addition, I served on the Town Council Finance Committee (12 years), Intermediate School Land Search Committee, High School Facilities Committee and High School Building Committee. These qualifications give me a unique perspective to comment on the proposed Wentworth School.

Even though I moved away from town a couple of weeks ago, I still care very much about the people of Scarborough that I had the pleasure of representing. Several have asked me to analyze the Wentworth proposal and to offer an opinion on the project based on my years of experience in evaluating comparable issues in the past.

Wentworth School was discussed on the public record many times during my tenure on the Town Council. The consensus opinion was the facility would need to be replaced at some point in the future because the deteriorating condition of the building. Never once was the size of the facility mentioned as an issue. I agree that Wentworth needs to be replaced. I disagree with the size and expense of the building being proposed.

The current building is 106,000 square feet. The proposed building is 163,000 square feet. It appears excessive to propose a building that is 54 percent larger than the current facility, in particular with decreasing enrollment numbers. The reasons given for the increased size are the desire for a larger kitchen to meet the needs of K-5, storage for Gym Dandies and indoor track, special education testing rooms and additional space for community services. These are not legitimate reasons since all of these items are in the current facility. As a matter of fact, the square footage for community services is far less in the proposed new facility, which will curtail some services offered to the local community despite assurances from committee members to the contrary.

It’s an indisputable fact that the national average is 125 square feet per student at these grade levels. Wentworth is proposed for 203 square feet per student. Locally, the communities of Dexter, Lewiston, Falmouth, Brewer and Buxton have built schools in the past five years with comparable enrollment figures. These schools average 152 square feet per student. It’s interesting to note the state funded all five of these facilities at an average of 142 square feet per student.

Alarming the public with issues such as mold, radon and asbestos is a convenient way to slant public opinion in favor of the project. The state of Maine uses an exhaustive list that examines these and other issues when determining the priority for state construction aid. The fact is Wentworth was ranked 51st (out of 66) the last time the community applied for aid. Logic would dictate the need can’t be as dire as the proponents claim it to be based on Wentworth being ranked in the lowest 25th percentile. For some unknown reason the town didn’t even apply for construction aid in the most recent cycle.

The $39 million price tag ($66 million with interest) is cost prohibitive in this economy. The actual cost will be even higher because of the future cost of items removed from this proposal (playground, parking) that likely will be funded in future town budgets. The operating costs certainly would be higher in a building that is 54 percent larger. Lastly, the state of Maine is likely going to see another round of budget cuts. This will have a negative impact on Scarborough at a very inopportune time. The last few available budget dollars would be better spent on teachers that have a direct impact on learning rather than on an over-sized building.

I would suggest a no vote on this proposal. I would further suggest the School Board put forth a proposal next year for a building with 113,000 square feet. This is larger than the current building. It would yield 141 square feet per student, which is in line with aforementioned state-funded projects. The 50,000-square-foot reduction in size would reduce the costs by an estimated $12 million ($20 million with interest) using current construction rates. This would seem to strike a better balance between the needs of the district and the affordability to the taxpayer.

Jeffrey Messer, a former Scarborough town councilor, now lives in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.