There were nine pages of letters in the Duxbury Clipper on Wednesday -- and even then, some didn't make the cut. Here is one, written by Scott and Eleanor Mackay.
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Dear Editor,
My wife is an architect and I have been a builder for almost thirty years. We have attended school building committee meetings, as well as public safety building meetings. Our town owes thanks to the citizens on these committees, a hardworking, smart, informed and involved group.
The decision to build or renovate the middle and high schools has become a highly charged issue. The mention of the total cost sends chills into everyone’s personal budgets: an average of $750.00 per year for 25 years for the schools alone (or about $14.00 a week). We tend personally to favor renovating as a rule because it feels betters, less wasteful but in this case, we have come to a different conclusion.
We walked through the middle and high school with the facilities director over Christmas break. He laid out for us the problems he faces daily to keep the schools up and running. It was an eye opener.
The whole school seemed quite warm for being empty. He explained that it was necessary to prevent heating system pipes from freezing. The school was built with an electric system back when the nuclear plant was ready to open and future electricity was supposed to cost us just pennies. Every wall heater was later retrofitted with hot water pipes to a boiler system -- too close to outside uninsulated walls. Freeze ups in the past have created serious damage. The facilities director went on to show us outdated systems from HVAC controls to electrical to phone to PA systems. The windows are all failing as is the roof and lab areas.
When you gut out all these problems, you end up with a shell of brick. So what are we preserving by renovating - an architectural gem? No. Perhaps a well laid out building? Sorry, no again. In fact the layout is a real problem, lacking in storage and flexibility required for current teaching models.
If you have sent your kids through the Duxbury High School in the last 25 years or so you did so because someone before you paid for it. The existing school was built in the 60’s and that debt rolled off the books back in the 80’s. Therefore most of us have never paid for a high school. Guess what? It’s our turn.
Personally, we think we will look back on the building of new schools as an expensive undertaking but with tremendous value. We think the $14 dollars a week and its impact on our home finances will eventually fade and that supporting the new schools will look like one of the smartest things we have ever done.
Eleanor and Scott Mackay
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