With only a few days left before the Dec. 8 debt exclusion vote, LexObserver took to the streets of Lexington this week to ask residents how they feel about the new high school.
We stopped through Lexington Center, checked in at the Community Center, and talked to some new faces outside Stop & Shop, aiming for a demographic mix and voices other than those we often hear from.
We found that most people know about the new high school and how much it is predicted to cost. Among the voters we spoke to, people were pretty split down the middle with how they plan to vote — “yes” for the new school as it’s designed, or “no.”
“Yes” voters we spoke to were largely parents of current or former Lexington High School students who have heard from their children about the poor conditions of the current high school.
“We definitely need a new high school, it’s kind of falling apart,” Sacha Soparkar, an LPS parent, told the Observer. “My daughter, who’s still at the high school now says, ‘you can’t even move through the hallways.’ They give them five minutes to get to class. She’s like, ‘no one can get to class in five minutes, depending on where they’re going, where they’re going from.’ There’s just too many kids. It’s not big enough.”
“I’ve worked in a high school where the building wasn’t good and where people in the building suffered a lot more. Yes, my taxes are going to go up, but I’m for it,” a Lexington resident and retired teacher who worked for a different school district, told the Observer.
In Lexington Center, LexObserver bumped into Sarah Bothwell-Allen, who is the treasurer of the “Yes for Lexington” campaign, a group of over 950 residents who are in favor of passing the debt exclusion vote.
“The high school does not meet the needs of the current staff and students and passing this debt exclusion vote is the fastest path to getting the facility our town needs,” she said. “I understand people wanted aspects of it to be different and the price of it is certainly quite large, but this is what it costs to build a school of this scale in the current building environment.”
“No” voters we chatted with, who skewed older, worried about the cost of the new school and did not feel the School Building Committee adequately addressed resident concerns throughout the design process.
LexObserver crossed paths with Lexington resident Alexey Vikhlinin as he cast his “no” vote early.
“$660 million, I think the cost is outrageous,” he stated. “I don’t think the planning was done correctly, I haven’t seen the analysis of how it will go into the future, and I haven’t seen the different options of how it can be done differently by expanding or renovating the existing building. In my day job I basically deal with NASA projects, I look at various options for expensive options very carefully, and I haven’t seen this analysis done in town, so I’m voting against it.”
A life-long Lexingtonian who’s now retired is also worried about the cost. She shared her thoughts with the Observer on her way into Stop & Shop.
“Who the hell’s going to pay my new taxes?” she asked with a laugh. “I just don’t understand why it’s costing $660 million without a swimming pool. Come on. I don’t know how long I can stay if they’re going to continue to raise the taxes.”
Another retired resident who’s opposed to the project is mostly unhappy about how the town worked with residents to design the new school and losing the high school’s sports fields as a contiguous recreation space.
“I went to two of the [SBC meetings], and I was not comfortable with the attitude of the people in charge. I thought they did not properly consider the objections, especially the taking of the conservation land — that’s my major issue,” he told the Observer as he walked down Massachusetts Ave. in the Center. “You don’t literally lose it, you put it back somewhere else, but somewhere else is inferior and the two pieces are separated forever.”
One mother, whose daughter recently graduated from LHS, isn’t sure how she’ll vote, she told the Observer. She understands arguments from residents who are in support of the new school and those who aren’t, but said she ultimately has to do more research before she votes.
Only a few residents we spoke to felt indifferent about the project. At the Community Center, one man said he knows the project is “too expensive,” but doesn’t know much else about it. Another man shouted, “I don’t have an opinion” as he walked across the parking lot.
About 30 people the Observer approached did not want to share their thoughts on the project.
If you’re looking for more information on the high school building project before you cast your vote on Monday, check out our collection of articles on the topic.
If you’d rather listen than read, check out LHS junior Vyushti Khetan’s video series she made with her mom, Ranjeeta Khetan, who is a member of Lexington’s Parent Teacher Organization. The Khetans aim to answer questions they’d heard around the Indian community in town, students at LHS, and online.
Vyushti recalled hearing LHS seniors discuss the fact that they can now vote in the hallway at school one day. Vyushti asked them if they were going to vote on the debt exclusion, to which they answered, “I don’t know” and “I don’t care,” she said.
“I was just thinking in my head, ‘if you want to get involved with the community, I think it’s best that you’re informed about what’s going on,’” she told the Observer.
And Ranjeeta heard residents characterize the project as a “billion dollar project” time and time again. She wanted to provide clarification through these videos to quell rumors like that.
Before Vyushti made the series, she was against building a new high school, partly because she thought the cost of the project took away from buying materials for teachers. But after learning more, she changed her tune. Ranjeeta is also in favor of building the new school, partly because of the environmental benefits the school’s solar features will bring to the community.
The debt exclusion vote will need a simple majority of “yes” votes to pass. Stay tuned to LexObserver.com for preliminary election results Tuesday morning.
Interesting fairly balanced article, thankyou
I’m NOT voting, here’s why:
I’m ashamed to live in a town that’s so elitist about our schools and has unlimited funds, while poor communities suffer and do without. I don’t think poorer state residents should pay for a rich community’s school. I can’t support that with a YES vote for moral reasons.
I’m also aware that Lexington is ALL about the schools and that’s not likely to change, it’s just who “we” are. And we need this “drug” to feed our egos.
I don’t feel that trying to change that ecosystem with a No vote is realistic, or pragmatic.
So I will not vote, I don’t want my blood on it.
MA Thenen, I hear your reasonings and of course it is someone’s choice whether or not to vote. However, my understanding of the ‘no’ vote is not about not wanting a new school, but how this school is designed and its cost. Who cares about the $ from the state. That money is nothing compared to what this building is going to cost in the long run. It’s like buying something for 10% off on a credit card and paying interest on it for years. Where is the benefit? Some of what you have said is what the no voters are talking about. On the other hand, people are worried that if we don’t say yes and have this type of new LHS Lexington is going to collapse. And others are worried that if we do have the Bloom design the costs and taxes associated with said project is going to be a heavy and unnecessary burden on the taxpayers. What next? Have we forgotten about Bridge and Bowmen? They’re going to need to be replaced at some point. This will bring on more fiscal challenges. Again, to cut costs, why can’t the school administration go in the building that is being renovated for it right now? Isn’t this costing money? Is there a way to remove the 3rd floor courtyard? Shouldn’t this help with costs? During construction things are added and or taken out to keep with in budget. For some reason this project seems to be based on big dreams and the deep pockets or lack there of, of the taxpayers. The school design is beautiful. I can appreciate the concerns, worries and goals of the Yes campaign. However, I have yet to see anyone say anything about ways of making the cost less by eliminating some of the extras. Remember our schools are great because of our teachers, parents, and students – the people. Lexington for many, many decades has been a leader in education, this is nothing new. Lets do a new building but do it in a fiscally responsible way.
Never vote for a tax.. Burlington voted against this same topic.
I think Revere and Arlington seem to be the best reference points. Arlington came in -15% less than Bloom…but was completed years ago so that could largely be explained by inflation.
Revere is coming in at around $475m which is a delta of around $175m. Am assuming a more bare bones effort.
So question comes down to what do you get for the $175m? A more impressive bldg that is 100% energy efficient. An insurance policy protecting real estate values. A more expensive town that is less accessible to muddle income families.
My take- This is not a layup decision.