Support a New Elementary School

On June 13 Brunswick residents will vote on whether the Town should build a new elementary school at a cost of approximately $28 million. My wife and I will vote yes, for many reasons: the impact of quality schools on property values, our duty to support today’s children as the Town in the past had supported our children, and the difficulties of finding classrooms for hundreds of children while their school is being renovated. Most importantly, a new school is the most economical option for the Town.

How so? The Coffin School is at the end of its useful life. The School Department has voted to implement a pre-K program, but currently has no space for it. Also, we face a growing elementary school enrollment in the future. Everyone who has studied the issue has come to the same conclusion: our current space is too small and in unsatisfactory condition, a situation that has to be remedied.

Like all taxpayers, we want the Town to remedy the situation in the cheapest possible way. The School Department has considered several options, including a renovation of Coffin School and various short term fixes. School officials and the architects agree that building a new school is the cheapest option when evaluated on the long term basis of the next forty years. Of course, it would be great if the State of Maine could help us with the cost. But, the State is being asked to help us with our new Junior High School and by all accounts will have neither the inclination nor the money to subsidize our elementary school in the foreseeable future.

The Town has to act; it has to go it alone; and building a new school is the cheapest option. That is why a yes vote makes economic sense.

To learn the facts, please go to www.greatschoolsforbrunswick.com or attend one of the informational meetings conducted by the School Department. Then join us by voting yes to build the new elementary school, on June 13 or by absentee ballot after May 15.

Michael Jones,

Brunswick

Early Education is an Investment in Maine’s Future

The Annie E. Casey Foundation recently released their annual “Kids Count” report for 2017, which outlines state trends in the well-being of our children. The report underscores once again that high quality pre-k programs lead to higher educational attainment, career advancement, and greater earnings later in life. As a former preschool teacher myself, I have seen the benefits of early childhood education firsthand.

The positive benefits of early learning go beyond the individual.

Our criminal justice system would benefit. Multiple studies show that at-risk youth not involved in a pre-k program are far more likely to commit violent crimes by the time they turn 18, leading to increased incarceration costs. In a “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” report, 80 percent of police chiefs ranked early education as a “top strategy” for reducing crime.

Maine’s economy would benefit. A 2011 report by “America’s Edge” showed that every $1 invested in early education generates $1.78 in economic activity, a greater rate of return than investments in farming, fishing, retail trade or construction.

In recent years this issue has continued to garner widespread support. In my previous legislative service, I sponsored a bill to offer startup funding for school districts to offer voluntary early education programs. The proposal received the backing of educators, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, and law enforcement – including our own Sheriff Joel Merry. In 2014, the bill became law.

Currently, only 35.9% of four year olds in Sagadahoc County attend public pre-K, according to this year’s Kids Count report, lower than the statewide average of 38.8%.

The proposed biennial budget before the Legislature removes casino revenues that help fund early education programs. Cutting this funding is shortsighted and will lead to greater monetary and societal costs down the road.

Lawmakers would do well to heed the advice of advocates, teachers, law enforcement, and the business community: early childhood education is an investment too important to pass up.

Senator Eloise Vitelli

Senate District 23

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