Dear Editor:

We have put off the needs of our schools for far too long. Now it’s time to address the significant inadequacies of our current facilities. Yes, others have come up with their own alternative solutions. These proposals either kick the can further down the road, putting off the inevitable, or they offer solutions that are unlikely to be achieved within the next 10-15 years and assume that the other towns in our region would agree with these proposals which experts calculate would cost even more than the proposals currently put forth by our School Board and Board of Trustees. Meanwhile, our kids bear the burden of inadequate facilities that will continue to decline as the cost of addressing them will continue to increase.

None of us want our property taxes to go up, but it is time. It’s time to start listening to our fellow citizens who serve on the School Board and the Board of Trustees. They have no vested interest and have tirelessly and unselfishly given hundreds of volunteer hours over the course of many years to gather and review the facts, consider the alternatives, and ultimately come up with what they consider to be the best possible cost-effective long-term solution for our towns and our children.

As I look back on my public-school education, I am grateful that the adults in my community, whether they had children in the schools or not, were willing to support the schools I attended. I hope that the children of Boothbay will feel the same way as they look back on their time in the Boothbay schools.

Please vote YES on April 24! Our kids deserve it.

Erik Bertelsen

East Boothbay