Education matters for community preservation

By Joshua McKain, Scituate
GateHouse News Service
Posted Feb 04, 2010 @ 09:00 AM

Scituate — To the Editor:

While attending a three-hour meeting sponsored by the school committee and attended by at least 100 members of the community on Jan. 30 in the Gates Intermediate School library, it became clear that the community is seriously concerned about the impact of a projected $1.5 million school budget shortfall and the preservation of the staff and services that our school system provides

With school closure, staff reduction, program elimination and other painful cuts on the table, we need a long-term solution to fund the schools for the preservation of our community. The very concept of community preservation extends to many areas of town, including to our schools, but the money available from the state through the Community Preservation Act, which the town adopted in 2002, and which has been a boon for Scituate, can only be used for specific purposes: Protection of open space, preservation of historical resources, creation of affordable housing and recreation.

I have been a member of the community preservation committee since adoption of the act, and the state has matched 100 percent of the money that the town has raised through a 3 percent surcharge for all but the past two years. At 38 percent today, the state match still represents a significantly higher return than most investors can expect in this ailing economy, or even in a healthy economy. Towns with a 3 percent surcharge are eligible for a greater state match than those with lower surcharges.

The community preservation funds have been used for many projects that enhance the quality of life in Scituate and that the town would not have been able to do without the adoption of the Community Preservation Act, including some of the following:

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Purchasing open space, including large swaths of contiguous, un-fragmented forests that provide great opportunities for passive recreation and protection of our precious water supply.

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Preservation of the GAR Hall, the Cudworth House, the Stockbridge Mill, the Little Red Schoolhouse and Lawson Tower, as well as some historically important documents dating back to the 1600s.

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Construction of basketball courts at Scituate High School, tennis courts at Gates, a regulation ball field at Hatherly Elementary School, playgrounds at both the Cushing and Hatherly schools and paved pedestrian paths along the Driftway and in North Scituate.

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Creation of an affordable housing trust to address the issue of lack of housing for many who would like to live in Scituate, but who cannot afford a house, including some of our teachers, firefighters and other adults who grew up in Scituate.

To determine the 3 percent surcharge, $100,000 of the assessed value of all residential parcels is exempt, and there are exemptions for those over 60 years of age and for homeowners who qualify as low-income. For example, a homeowner whose property is assessed at $400,000 pays less than $100 per year.

Although we are not likely to receive a state match to solve our projected school budget deficit this year or in any future year, we could adopt an educational surcharge, modeled after the one we have in place for the Community Preservation Act, that is sensitive to those over 60 years of age who may be on a fixed income and others who have low incomes. If we adopt a 3 percent, tax-deductible, education surcharge, we could raise approximately $950,000 next year and similar amounts in years to follow. We could take a huge chunk out of the predicted $1.5 million school budget shortfall and help alleviate school budget constraints in the future — for our children and for the preservation of our community.