There will be two very important votes in Longmeadow this fall. On Sept. 9, at a special Town Meeting, residents will vote on the funding for the new middle school. This will be followed by a ballot vote on Sept. 30, to approve a Proposition 2½ Exclusion. If both votes pass, the new middle school project will have the green light to proceed, and residents can expect construction to start in the summer/fall of 2026.
So, what will this mean for you as a tax paying resident of Longmeadow? The cost of the new school is currently estimated at about $152 million and includes items such as a Rain Garden and a Cafe Terrace. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will cover about a third of the cost through a grant. This will leave the town with a bill of about $100 million, give or take a few million. This will be financed for between 30 to 40 years, and will cost the average taxpayer, depending on the assessed value of your home, somewhere between $800 to $1,000 per year for the term of the debt.
While there is no debate that the two middle schools are in rough shape, this will nevertheless be a tough tax pill to swallow for the average resident, especially given that we are still paying for the new high school. With one of the highest tax mill rates in the state, this will certainly keep us at or near the top of the list for the foreseeable future.
I have not been in any of the town’s elementary schools in many years, but I have read about the mold issues and condition of the buildings. It makes me wonder if we’ll be going through this process again in five to 10 years for the elementary schools. The point I’m getting at is, at what point does the town of Longmeadow become unaffordable for the average resident. For our seniors on fixed incomes, I’m sure this is a very stressful scenario.
I would feel better about all of this if the town took better care of its assets. We seem to do the minimum in keeping up our schools, roads, and other town buildings and then when they need to be replaced, we are asked to approve the funding and override, and accept the tax bill. This can’t go on forever. Might renovating the middle schools be a more cost-effective option? Does anyone actually believe that the cost to renovate just one of the middle schools is $80 million? I’m not sure how this estimate was determined, but running this by some folks in the construction industry was met with some serious eye rolling. I think we need to reassess what we’re doing and where the town is heading before it becomes unaffordable for most of us.
Bill & Terry DeGiulio
Longmeadow
