Stonington — The three members of the Board of Selectmen issued a statement Saturday in which they supported the proposed $69 million renovation and expansion of Deans Mill and West Vine Street schools and urged residents to vote "yes" on the plan at Tuesday’s referendum.

Democratic First Selectman George Crouse, Republican Selectman Rob Simmons and unaffiliated Selectman Mike Spellman called the vote “critical for our school system’s long term infrastructure needs.

“It’s about the future, it’s about our kids, and it’s an affordable solution to the problem we face that will benefit our community for decades to come,” they wrote.

They said the 48-year-old sister schools are in serious need of renovation and “are accurately described by career educators as tired and in need of modernization to meet the evolving needs of our students.”

They pointed out their unanimous support follows the unanimous approval of the plan by both the Board of Finance and Board of Education.

“Simply put this school building initiative, which was studied and thoroughly reviewed by an experienced K-12 school Building Committee, is clearly in long term interest of the Town of Stonington,” they wrote.

They said the renovated schools with expanded gymnasiums, “will not only meet our students’ needs for decades but will also satisfy the recreational needs of Stonington residents.” They will also be readily available as emergency housing sites during hurricanes and other natural disasters.

The selectmen said their “advocacy for this project is based upon solid fundamentals of municipal finance.” They said the town’s strong bond rating will result in a favorable interest rate for the money that is borrowed and the town will qualify for state reimbursement that will lower the cost for taxpayers to $52.3 million.

“We believe that the alternative of taking no action will subject the town to long-term maintenance costs, less state funds for the project and higher overall costs to fix the schools. So we can pay now or pay later. We have decided that waiting is not the best option. We will not “kick the can down the road.” It is time to act,” the three wrote.

They said they are aware of the stresses that households have endured in the sluggish economy and that the project is the largest bond package in town history. But they said the town is well positioned to handle the debt load. The polls will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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