Presented by the Wallingford School Board
A Bond Vote to Save Our School Building
Although the Wallingford Elementary School improvement bond vote passed on Town Meeting day, there was an error with the warning for the vote.We ask for your support once again on Tuesday from 10-7 at Town Hall. You will be asked to validate the positive vote and a YES supports the school. See below for more information.......
As your elected representatives we know your trust has been placed in us to guarantee the best education possible for the children of Wallingford. In order for you to make an informed decision that you feel confident about, regarding the proposed bond, we must provide the information that allows you to do that.
Here are the facts:
1) The School building is in need of immediate repairs. The roof is leaking and the leaking is causing damages. The 40 year old air handler in the gym/lunch room is on its last leg and has become so obsolete that parts are no longer available for it. Other components, including the furnaces and the kitchen are over 20 years old and are starting to cost a lot of money to maintain and will need to be replaced soon.
2) Our school is inefficient to heat and maintain. There are places where you can lift up a ceiling tile and put your hand outside. We are paying electric rates at peak rates. We are wasting money heating an inefficient building.
3) Our school is the heart of the community. Our school helps unite us. Wallingford would not be the same without our elementary school, and young families would not want to live here, without it.
4) Wallingford Elementary is not going to be consolidated. We are not classified as a small school in Vermont, and there is no plan to consolidate our school. Our student counts are in fact increasing.
5) Most efficient and least disruptive plan. It is more cost effective, and less disruptive to the educational process, to do all the needed work at once.
6) The Elevator is a crucial element of the project: We need an elevator to accommodate children, staff and visitors with disabilities, broken legs, etc. to get between floors. It is not okay to be asking our staff to carry children upstairs to down, or to pull them in sleds down to and from the playground. The current situation does not meet the needs of our students and our community and also opens the school up to liability.
7) Vulnerable Main Entrance to the School: Recent events have made us aware that we are in an uncomfortably vulnerable position with limited views from within the school of the main entrance. A new configuration using the existing space would give us a relocated front office allowing the office staff to see people coming into the school, provide locking doors every visitor must pass through, require visitors to sign in, and give the school office much more secure control over who enters the building.
8) Cost for Wallingford residents: The 900k bond will cost just $26/100k of assessed value per year. That is a little more than $2 per month, per year, per 100k of assessed value.
9) Alternatives to reduce the bond cost. Here is the comparison:
a. Pro-Active Alternative 1: Do the entire project as proposed, including the energy savings.
b. Wait and See Alternative 2: Do the absolutely necessary repairs of failing systems at a cost of approximately 400k. Without the energy efficiency saving it would cost 98k per year between bond payment and energy costs for the school. This alternative would require further bonding in the future for new furnaces, kitchen appliances, lighting and would NOT include the secure entry way project. While this will cost less money now, it will cost a lot more in the long run.
10) We need to spend money to save money! Energy Savings pay for repairs: With the offset costs due to energy savings the cost of the 900k bond will be the same as a 400k bond. We are using the energy saving measures to help pay for the necessary repairs.
11) How much would a brand new school cost? The question has been raised, that if this project costs this much money, why dont we just build a new school? The estimate to build a new school of the same size is 4 million dollars. A much costlier and disruptive option than the proposed bond.
As your Wallingford School Board we have worked diligently to formulate an affordable, efficient and effective plan to help the school children of our community have the facilities they need to receive a great education. We want to set the example for all the children, that we are a community that is proactive in solving problems, instead of a community that delays until an emergency dictates our actions. Please go to the polls on Tues. April 2nd and consider the educational future you envision for the children of Wallingford.
Thank you for your serious consideration of all that is involved.
The Wallingford Elementary School Board
Oct 28, 2024, 4:30 to 5:30 PM
Secretary of Education Listening TourOct 28, 2024, 6 to 8 PM
Chair Yoga Tuesdays at Pawlet LibraryOct 29, 2024, 11:45 AM to 12:30 PM