On Town Meeting day Wilmington and Whitingham voters will be asked to fill out a survey to indicate their choice of school facility option, either (1) renovate the current high school in Wilmington, or (2) consolidate the middle and high school students in Whitingham, ship the Whitingham elementary students to Wilmington, figure out what to do with the Whitingham preschoolers and kindergarteners, in order to eliminate the use of the high school building.
I support the option to renovate the high school in Wilmington. It’s clear, doable, and when all factors are properly considered, it’s the most economically responsible.
The renovation option is already “value engineered” as opposed to a conceptual plan, and it’s ready to go. It’s far less costly than previous plans that have been brought before the voters. What remains to be properly considered under the consolidation option is the unintended consequence, primarily what will it mean to Wilmington to lose the high school building.
The Tri-town Economic Development Committee has put tremendous effort into identifying the strengths of our valley and immediate needs in a consulting report submitted by Mullin & Associates. That report rightly defines the valley as having three focal points, Dover has the economic engine, Wilmington has a quintessential New England village center, and Whitingham has the pastoral beauty so associated with Vermont. My concern is that we gut the Wilmington village and leave behind an abandoned albatross with no conceivable plan as to its future. That to me is irresponsible and could badly affect a village that is struggling at this time and hoping to invest in itself.
There are other unintended consequences such as having to rework the governance of Twin Valley School District in a new merger, determining the percentage of school building ownership between the two towns, loss of the transportation hub, and the definite prospect of some of our neighbors being permanently pink-slipped in these terrible economic times.
But let me focus on one consequence that has not been sufficiently vetted, the threat of loss of revenue to the district and the real potential of catapulting Wilmington taxpayers well into the penalty box. This could include a negative impact on user fees, loss of tuition-paying students from Dover, and continued maintenance costs associated with moth-balling the abandoned high school building. These maintenance costs do not decrease annually, as do the bond payments, in fact they escalate. Most important, maintenance costs are categorized as per pupil spending and subject to the penalty, while capital construction costs of the renovation option are exempt from the penalty.
In my opinion we will be paying $2 for every $1 of hard costs to maintain an abandoned structure while severely impacting the image and economic viability of Wilmington’s village. Picture a large abandoned structure on each end of the village of Wilmington. How will that make you feel? Especially when you are paying for one of them.
Susie Haughwout
Wilmington
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