Duxbury has been accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s (MSBA) Eligibility Period for the Alden School project. It’s a valuable opportunity to partner with the state to address the significant needs of this crumbling 80-year-old building.

Our opportunity is complicated by a much larger financial reality. As the School Committee learned in our October 8 meeting, the conversation about funding the initial feasibility study appears to be drifting toward a debt exclusion, which would require a ballot vote to raise taxes.

I believe this is the wrong approach. First, it breaks with a long and successful precedent in Duxbury and other MA towns of funding feasibility studies with available reserves, such as free cash or stabilization accounts. For example, one-time architectural studies for the Middle/High School, the DPW Building, and the Percy Walker Pool appropriately drew from town reserves. Second, our Select Board has prioritized the development of a “5B” Override Budget. Asking taxpayers to approve two separate tax increases in a single year is a recipe for confusion and frustration.

Funding the Alden School feasibility study using the town’s available reserves avoids a conflicting “double ask” of voters to permanently raise their taxes for an operational override… and then again for this one-time initial study. We should instead use the right tool for the job without immediately turning to the taxpayers. It’s the open, honest, and strategic way to begin a crucial project that will eventually require the entire community’s trust and support.

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Note: The views and opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the official policies, positions, or endorsements of the Duxbury School Committee. For official information about Duxbury Public Schools and the Duxbury School Committee, please visit duxbury.k12.ma.us.