Supporting the Future of Essex Elementary School

To the Editor,

I am writing in my personal capacity as a resident of Essex; not in my elected position on our Select Board. 

A $95 million estimate for a new elementary school is a significant number, and none of us should look at it lightly.  For Essex households, especially residents on fixed incomes and families balancing rising living costs, every dollar on a tax bill matters. It is entirely right to ask hard questions and examine whether this investment is the most responsible path forward.

When you look closely at the numbers and the alternatives, moving forward now is not only the most sound educational choice; it is also the most fiscally responsible one for our town.

Across the Commonwealth, we have seen the steep cost of waiting.  Pausing or sending the project back to the drawing board would mean losing our place in the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) pipeline.  Construction costs continue to climb year over year due to broader economic pressures.  To put that in perspective: when the Manchester Memorial budget was established in 2019 at roughly $52.2 million, regional school construction was in a very different economic climate.  Today, building costs per square foot are substantially higher across the board.  Every year of delay simply buys us a higher price tag for the exact same (or even reduced) facility.

The School Building Committee did the right thing by exploring all viable alternatives, including a basic "Code Update" for the existing structure.  That update alone carried an estimated price tag of roughly $53 million.  Crucially, a basic code update would only patch compliance issues; it would not provide modern classroom furnishings, address contemporary educational needs, or extend the useful life of the 70-year-old building long term.  More importantly for local taxpayers, a code-only repair would not benefit from the same level of MSBA reimbursement.  Once MSBA funding and the regional apportionment with Manchester are factored in, the estimated net difference to Essex between a stopgap code repair and a state-of-the-art new school narrows to approximately $7.4 million.

From a timing perspective, there is also a bit of fiscal relief ahead: the existing debt service for the regional Middle/High School will be retiring in the near future.  With the old debt beginning to roll off, and the new debt service for Essex Elementary coming up, the net tax impact transitions into a much flatter, predictable profile rather than an unmanageable spike.

Finally, this project represents the completion of a regional promise.  Over the years, Essex voters showed up in partnership to support two modern school facilities in Manchester. Essex Elementary is the third and final cornerstone of our shared district infrastructure. Our elementary students, educators, and community deserve a facility built to last, and doing it now protects our town’s financial footing for the next half-century.

This project must pass at both the Town Meeting on Monday, November 16 at 6:45 pm at Essex Elementary, and again at the ballot on Thursday, December 10 at the Public Safety Building where polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Please be sure to vote. 

Thank you,

Dexter Lee-Viator

Essex