OPINION: Statement on Debt Exclusion Override for Hanlon-Deerfield School

Editor's Note: Westwood Minute takes no position on the issues presented below. The following article was submitted by Professor Peter T. Ittig, and is taken from his statement at Westwood's October 18, 2021 Special Town Meeting. It is posted in its unedited entirety.

The Special Town Meeting on October 18th examined the question of whether Westwood residents should authorize funding to construct a new, consolidated Hanlon-Deerfield elementary school. Voters indicated "yes."

However, another vote is required on whether voters will approve the mechanism necessary to implement funding for the new school. Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, October 26, 2021 to vote on whether to approve treating school construction and related costs as a debt exclusion override to Proposition 2 1/2.  That law otherwise limits the size of increase to property taxes that are allowed in a year.

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Statement on Hanlon Override at Town Meeting 10-18-2021

By Professor Peter T. Ittig, member, Westwood Finance & Warrant Commission

Good afternoon. My name is Peter Ittig and I am a member of the Westwood Finance Commission.

You received a report from the Finance Commission that purports to be the comments and recommendations of the Finance Commission on this proposal. However, the comments in that report were not reviewed or approved by the Finance Commission prior to publication. Rather, they were the responsibility of the Chairperson and exclude the views of the minority. I was particularly disappointed that the report does not show the cost comparisons that were provided to the Commission by the school committee for similar projects in other towns.

You also received a flyer from the school administration that does show cost comparisons, but it only shows comparisons of the cost per square foot, which flatters this large project and incorrectly suggests that the cost is low.

Comparisons of total cost and of cost per student are not at all favorable and are not shown. You may see my full minority report, including that comparison table, on the Westwood Minute news site and I suggest that you look at those cost comparisons before voting at the override election next week.

Ultimately, two members of the Commission voted no on the override and three members didn’t vote at all.

I will try to summarize my concerns.

First, we do not need a new school at this time for rising numbers of students. The proposed override, the largest ever in Westwood, is a replacement project for older schools that need repairs. The Deerfield school would be closed afterward.

Just last week, the U.S. News and World Report listed the Deerfield School as among the best elementary schools in Massachusetts. Clearly, the age of the school matters less that what happens inside between the teachers and the students, yet we are proposing to close the Deerfield School.

Many parents actually prefer small neighborhood schools, such as Deerfield, rather than a large, consolidated school as proposed today as a replacement.

An important concern is that this project is very expensive. It is much more expensive than the high school and more expensive than all of the comparison school projects presented to the Commission, including those designed for larger numbers of students. The project is about $10 million more expensive than the comparison school in Medfield, which is designed for a larger number of students and about $12 million more expensive than the comparison project in Wellesley. State reimbursement is low compared with the high school. The property tax increase will last for 30 years and will not be offset by Federal deductions for most of us. This will be in addition to the 3% tax increase that was approved at the Town Meeting in May.

Also, I am uncomfortable with the Planned Obsolescence of the school designs. We were told that new schools are designed to have a useful life of 40 to 50 years. Since we have several schools in Westwood, this means that we can expect to be continually replacing schools on a perpetual rotating cycle. This also means a replacement with an override and a tax increase every few years. For example, we will soon be asked to approve another override to rebuild the Sheehan School for another $60 million or so.

In my experience as a professor, colleges & universities generally do not do this rotating replacement of buildings. College lecture halls are generally not torn down when they need a new furnace or a roof repair or plumbing repairs. This is also true for homes in Westwood. Homeowners generally do not tear down the house when they need a new furnace or a new roof or new windows.

I believe that our schools should be built to last and the only good reason to build a new school should be for necessary additional capacity. That is not the issue here. In fact, we will be left with a surplus school at Deerfield after this project is complete.

I am also concerned about the impact of a large tax increase on our seniors, who are uniquely vulnerable to tax increases. Large school overrides have sometimes been accompanied by a concession of some sort for seniors as was offered at the time of the override for the high school. Seniors are about a quarter of the registered voters in Westwood, are sensitive to tax increases, generally don’t have children in the schools and they tend to vote at elections of the kind required for an override. There is no concession this time. A proposed citizen sponsored article to adopt additional senior exemptions that are permitted by the state was postponed by the Select Board to next year.

For all of these reasons, I voted no on this article and I recommend that Westwood voters vote no on the override.

Thank you.

Note: The Moderator cut off this statement for time limits. The last portion in italics was cut off.

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Thanks to Professor Ittig for contributing his opinion to Westwood Minute.  

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