I have been a resident of North Stonington for 18 years and have three children in our school system, one in each school. I have been so pleased with the educational opportunities that my children have had over the years, but I am appalled that we have let the physical well being of our schools go for so long.

I tend to avoid local politics, but I have attended the town meetings on this issue and understand that the schools have significant safety issues such as PCBs, asbestos, 12-foot long cracks in the ceilings, walls, weakened windows, roofs, science labs not properly equipped for safety and AP coursework.

The list goes on.

The cost to our town to repair our schools and protect our children is $25.87 million to $22.42 million if we approve this project by June 30. The full cost without the guaranteed reimbursement is $40.52 million. If we do not approve the project. We will still need to make our schools safe and will pay the full cost, if not more, over time. We will pay more and get less. Please vote on Monday, for our children and the future children of our community.