When students return to Bromfield Sept. 2, they will enter a school ranked fourth in Massachusetts and 161st in the nation, in the top 1% of high schools nationwide. Principal Kim Murphy said she is proud of the students and staff who make that ranking possible. So should the rest of Harvard be, as the new year begins.
But another number surfaced at the School Committee this week: $28.3 million. That is the new estimate to replace Bromfield’s HVAC system and roof, almost double last year’s figure. Add the cost of the district’s new cellphone policy, still short of the roughly $20,000 grant it needs for secure phone containers, and a pattern emerges. New mandates and new technology keep arriving, and each one carries a price.
Harvard is not alone in this squeeze. Districts across Massachusetts are wrestling with rising special education, health insurance, and facilities costs while state aid fails to keep pace. Unlike many neighboring towns, Harvard runs its own standalone school district. There is no regional partner to share the cost of a $28-million building project. Whatever Harvard decides, Harvard alone will fund it.
That is the dilemma facing this town as the new school year opens: how to sustain a school system ranked among the best in the country without asking residents to shoulder costs they cannot bear. There is no painless answer. But there is a sound process. The School Committee’s decision to delay its funding request from this fall’s Town Meeting to next spring buys time that should be used well, not merely waited out.
That means detailed answers about financing options, a clear-eyed look at phasing the roof and HVAC work, and honest conversation with residents about what a first-rate education actually costs. It means listening to taxpayers on fixed incomes as carefully as to parents who want new facilities, and finding the ground where both concerns can be met.
School’s open; drive carefully
As noted, Harvard students head back to class next Tuesday, so please slow down and stay alert on our roads. Kids will be walking, biking, and stepping off buses on a street near you. A few extra seconds of caution really does save lives. Remember, too, that drivers must stop when a school bus has its stop arm extended and red lights flashing. Let’s all do our part for a safe start to the school year.
