On August 15th the Burlington, Vermont City Council approved placing a question on the November ballot that asks voters to approve a general obligation bond up to $165 million to fund construction of a new high school and technical center. School officials are now holding public engagement sessions to urge residents to pass the measure. They recently held a Town Hall to describe the project and the implications of the bond for taxpayers.
The district superintendent, members of the Burlington School Board and project architects gathered with members of the public recently to outline the design of the new school and answer questions about its cost.
Superintendent Tom Flanagan reviewed the history of why building a new school became necessary.
“We were working to complete a $70 million project to essentially renovate the old high school. During that project we learned that PCBs were in the air. We started to learn that those PCBs were in the caulking around the windows. They were also in the glue underneath the tiling and had seeped into the concrete foundation. They’re in the walls. They’re also in the ceiling. They’re in the soil and they’re in the air, which is where we found them. And we made a decision after we learned sort of the full impact of the PCBs that the building was no longer viable. It became really clear to us over time that there was no remediating or fixing the old building.”
Light and space were important elements for students and staff, and the design reflects that in both interior and outdoor learning spaces. Freeman French Freeman Architect Jesse Beck notes that sustainability is key to the building’s design.
“The heart and soul of this new school will be two levels of space in the center. Bringing daylight into all the interior spaces was very important to the students. And the roof plan just reinforces that we’re thinking sustainability. We have these green zones for rainwater capture, for stormwater capture. We have solar panels in as many places as we can put them on flat roofs and there will be off site solar opportunities as well to help electrify the school.”
A key concern with the pending $165 million bond vote is its potential impact on taxpayers.
School District Executive Director of Finance and Operations Nathan Lavery said they have done estimates based on the full bond amount and are working to reduce the amount the school needs to borrow.
“This is a multi-year project and so we expect borrowing to take place over probably three possibly even four years. And that means that the impact of the tax increases will phase in. We have already made an effort to reduce the cost of this project to taxpayers. For example the decision to relocate some of the tech center programs to the airport. That’s going to bring the cost of this project down. But we’ve also been working hard to identify other sources of funding to further reduce the pressure on taxpayers. We’re off to a good start there. But we are committed to doing more in our effort to ultimately reduce the amount of borrowing we need to do, which consequently reduces the pressure on taxpayers.”
The school district is planning another town hall to discuss the bond question on October 21st.