The elementary school is now 30 years old, for which the bond was paid off eight years ago. Now the School and School Building committees want to tear down this school and replace it with a $54 million new building that includes a $2 million presidential office suite for the school superintendent and staff. After the amount the state will reimburse, the town’s taxpayers will be on the hook for $35 million, which translates to a real 16 percent tax increase for the Harvard taxpayers. However, they claim that the tax increase will be only 11 to 12 percent. This is because they want to take money from the capital fund and other sources, which means future tax increases for other projects. At present, the average family Harvard tax bill is 22nd among 351 in the state. If this proposal is passed, we will be 14th. In my opinion, the proponents of this spending won’t be happy until we are first.
If for the next two years we have a 2½ percent per year tax increase, our taxes will increase 21 percent. However, there are plans for Hildreth House, the Department of Public Works, and so on. It is conceivable that our taxes could increase 25 to 30 percent over the next few years with this overspending on a new school, which for most will not be tax deductible. With higher non-deductible taxes, fewer people will be able to buy a house in Harvard, which will translate to lower housing values.
The tax increase for the unnecessary overspending of this proposal is the surest way to force the elderly from Harvard. For those who can’t afford the tax increase, Hildreth House is useless. All this unnecessary spending with a decreasing school population.
There must be a better way for Harvard schools than the current maximum cost proposal. Therefore, vote no on this proposal.
Peter Zuk
Old Littleton Road
Editor’s note: An article that appears in this week’s paper (see “What the MSBA pays for and what it doesn’t”) puts the construction cost of administrative offices at $1 million. As for the additional projects the letter writer lists, most were included in the School Building Committee debt projection presented at its April 10 financial impact forum. The list comprises spending for the purchase of two new fire engines, renovation of the old library front entrance, expansion of Hildreth House, and the renovation of the DPW facility. The SBC forecast predicts the additional tax on a median-priced Harvard home needed to pay for the school plus those projects would peak at 12.8 percent in fiscal 2023.
