The collection of portable classrooms that litter Riverhead school properties should be removed and replaced by safe, secure and presentable classrooms for our children. Students need to be out of basements and utility closets. Even the hodgepodge of trailers that comprise our central administrative offices are a sign that something is amiss in our schools.
Make no mistake, these upgrades will have to be done eventually.
Let it begin on Tuesday, when district taxpayers are being asked whether or not to approve a $123 million bond to upgrade our schools. Now is the time, while interest rates are at an all-time low and the cost of labor is competitive. The money, which would be paid back over 23 years, is an investment in the future of a community that has seen tremendous growth over several decades.
And there's more growth to come. An additional 10,000 residents are expected in Riverhead's master plan. New schools will play a major role in determining which way this town and its growing population will go in the next 50 years. A town with decent schools and increasing -- not decreasing -- property values is the right way to go.
As for the current down economy, taxpayers won't feel the full brunt of this undertaking until 2014, when the annual taxes on a house worth $400,000 would jump by about $236 a year for five years. After 2018, when all previous debt is paid off, the cost of the bond would drop to about $208 per $400,000 household a year until 2030.
Before going to the polls Tuesday, keep in mind that town officials this month will be holding a downtown business summit as well as an educational forum on federal restoration grants; the hope is to draw businesspeople and families to live, work and invest in Riverhead's historic district. Those people will need to know that this town is in it with them; that we're investing in their children's future, too -- and not sticking students in utility closets if they happen to have special needs. The future of our beleaguered downtown is also tied to the schools.
In return for a yes vote, residents should demand something in return. The number of faculty members should be brought more in line with contracted student-teacher ratios. And that means not filling positions as educators leave or retire. Ditto for their bosses. In this economy, most everyone is being asked to do more work with fewer people to help. That should go for our well-paid teachers and school administrators.
If this bond issue passes, one thing will be clear: Taxpayers in Riverhead will not be able to sustain a 50 percent spike in school taxes over the next decade, which would happen if annual tax increases approach 5 percent.
Even though the town has seen tremendous growth in the past 20 to 30 years -- and has never expanded its schools accordingly -- we are in the midst of an enrollment drop. Our administrators and teaching staff should reflect that.
The board proposed reasonable increases in the past two years while planning appropriately for looming state aid cuts. It must continue on that course. This community should not and will not approve anything but the most modest budget increases moving forward.
A dramatic increase in taxes would only stifle property values and increase the potential for foreclosures, leading to neighborhood decay -- just the opposite effect of what Riverhead needs from this project.