Falmouth High School Renovation - Part I

We're damned if we do and damned if we don't.

Like most folks, when I first heard that another $19 million would be needed to finish the high school, I was angry. This was exacerbated by the fact that nobody seemed to have any answers, and the information we did get was vague, contradictory and barely trickling in here and there.

In an attempt to get answers, I started digging. I've previously posted about these efforts, and the difficulty I was having getting some of the things I requested.

Over the past several weeks, I've received the summaries for the 54 change orders, toured the high school and spoken with many people - town meeting representatives and voters alike - about the details of the high school renovation. The result of all this has been something of an epiphany for me.

While I was initially against the request for the additional funds, I now believe some additional money is needed to finish the high school.

So far, only $15.8 million of the $33.5 million state reimbursement has been received. If we fail to finish the project that the state approved, we risk loosing $17.7 million.

Put another way...if we decide to halt the project, patch things together and make do, it could cost taxpayers far more than $19 million.

That said; I've a lot to share about the things I've been reading and hearing, as well as my own efforts to bring this issue to a reasonable conclusion.

Stay tuned...


(I had originally included this line..."So much has been made of the fact that this is a $67.5 million project, but that figure doesn't include the state's contribution of $33.5 million. In fact, this is a $101 million project," but since learned that my math was off. The $67.5 million includes the state reimbursement, so this is still a $67.5 million project if/until the $18.8 million is approved, at which time it becomes an $86.3 million project.)