Groton has some important decisions to make May 2. The infrastructure of Groton is in desperate need of repair.

The Phase II School Facilities Program continues a plan to revitalize our schools that was first contemplated by the Groton Blue Ribbon Committee in 1995. The committee determined our schools needed significant renovations and a bold plan to address the maintenance and educational space needs of the future. It also recommended deferring major maintenance and renovation projects so they could be addressed by a comprehensive plan.

The Pre K-12 Master Planning Study of June 2003 was the culmination of that vision, consisting of three phases. Phase I was completed in 2008. The Phase II is the continuation of that vision.

Some have complained that now is not the time to take on such a large plan. To attract good businesses with good paying jobs, the town needs to have low taxes, good infrastructure, good schools and an intelligent workforce. There are 169 municipalities in the state. Groton has consistently been ranked among the 25 municipalities with the lowest equalized mill rate and the lowest percentage of municipal revenue funded by property taxes.

Groton is among the 10 most affordable municipalities in Connecticut. Unfortunately, there is a reason for our comparatively low property tax burden - we haven't been spending sufficient money to maintain our town's infrastructure. The estimated costs of deferred maintenance for our schools alone are almost $150 million.

Voting "no" on Phase II is a losing strategy and it's quitting in the middle of a long and thought-out plan. Phase II is a comprehensive, cost-efficient plan that economically addresses the issues of our schools in one fell swoop.

It also allows for the expansion of full-day kindergarten to 100 percent of our students and early-childhood services to 80 percent of our pre-kindergarten students at minimal cost because of operational savings gained through building consolidation.

The Phase II School Design Committee, consisting of private citizens, town employees, professional engineers, architects, transportation consultants and members of the school board, town council and RTM, developed this plan through three and a half years of study. The plan is complicated, involving six schools, consolidations, redistribution of teachers, students and grade levels, grants and construction subsidies, all timed to a very specific schedule that takes into account low interest rates, low construction rates, and projected education budgets. The plan is not simple or timid.

Waiting will prove more costly

The greatest concern I have over this plan is timing. Currently, interest rates and inflation are very low but will most likely rise. Each percentage point increase in interest rates adds $9 million of interest to a 20-year bond issue. The state subsidy rate for Groton is 66 percent, but will reduce to 57 percent next year. There is no better time than right now. Waiting for the economy to recover will make this project unaffordable and we will be left with deteriorating schools and no plan as cost efficient as this one to repair them.

Some say we don't need to build new school buildings, just fix the old ones. But the material conditions of our schools are poor. The average age of the schools to be addressed by this plan is more than 60 years, yet these schools were built with an anticipated life of only 30 years. They were not built as monuments. Many engineers and architects have repeatedly shown us why it is much less expensive to knock them down and build new.

Economic conditions warrant immediate action. Vote yes for Phase II. It is the right thing to do.

Brian M. Shirvell is chairman of the Groton Board of Education.