Dear Editor:

Over the past several years school leadership has spent time at each of their meetings to convince themselves and taxpayers that our schools need repair. They do. We all agree.

And during this time we have ignored what really matters.

Consider that during the past decade enrollment declined significantly. School employment has remained flat. This year a budget for non-teaching staff members increased. According to the Maine ESSA dashboard our academic learning results for math and language arts are mediocre. Absenteeism is chronic.

The $29M bond project includes funding for the following: 7th/8th grade space where more than ⅓ of the students come from towns other than Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor; site work for a new high school; and a maintenance building.

This bond project is not the right answer. We need to see a plan that addresses repairs for both schools and one which addresses improved learning results.

Denise Griffin

Boothbay Harbor