The cost of upgrading Maloney and Platt High Schools is substantial, but the cost of waiting could well be more.

The figures are large due to the fact that Meriden will be upgrading its two largest schools simultaneously. The City ordinarily would not undertake upgrading two schools at the same time, but Platt and Maloney were both built in 1958, are virtually identical structures and suffer from the same deficiencies demanding immediate attention. Fortunately, the City's past adherence to sound fiscal practices and policies make these upgrades financially manageable.

We are fully aware of the difficult economic times facing people in the short term, but a long term view strongly suggests that this may be the best time for undertaking such projects. When deciding whether to proceed, we must consider at least three issues — the high State reimbursement rate Meriden currently enjoys and the very real risk of its reduction by the State in light of Connecticut's budget crisis, the relatively low interest rates now available on 20 or 30 year bonds, and the ultra-competitive costs in the construction industry which have resulted from a dramatic decline in new building starts.

The most recent financial analysis of these projects, completed in October 2009, estimates a total cost of approximately $250 million for upgrading the high schools, with the City's share being approximately $70 million. These figures were obtained primarily to determine the relative cost differences among upgrade options and were not intended to be proposed budgets given the current lack of formal education specifications and architectural drawings needed to provide more detailed cost estimates.

These calculations are current estimates that will be refined over the next year as additional information is generated and before the City Council issues its final funding authorization.

The current estimates translate on average to approximately 1.35 mils. This calculation assumes the use of 20-year bonds and is based upon the 2010 grand list. Property taxes associated with 1.35 mils are $1.35 per $1,000 of assessed value (or $0.95 per $1,000 of fair market value). Using the average Meriden residential fair market value of $202,000 as an example, the projects would translate into $190 per year, or about $16 per month, of property taxes if there are no other improvements to the City's grand list.

The assumed average of $190 per year of property taxes, however, may not necessarily result in an actual tax increase due to the City Council's policy of only borrowing 50 percent of the amount of principal indebtedness paid down in the prior fiscal year.

In other words, the annual reduction in the City's existing debt service could offset much of the expense of the high school bonding. The upgrade costs hopefully also will be offset by future expansion of the City's tax base, ideally through increased commercial development. Meriden currently is amending its zoning regulations to advance this very goal consistent with its Plan of Conservation and Development. In this regard, two new state-of-the-art high schools can only help attract commercial investors seeking a centrally located, forward-looking community.

In the final analysis, we must recognize that the alternative to doing something is doing nothing at all. In the case of the high schools, to do nothing, in fact, is only to do nothing today since the high school upgrades cannot be delayed indefinitely. While the easy answer to difficult questions almost always is to maintain the status quo, a proposed course of action cannot intelligently be rejected without an honest and careful evaluation of the alternative.

Any thought that doing nothing now is the easy way to avoid the high school issue should be dispelled by an analysis of the likely consequences of delay — the increased cost to the taxpayers of reduced State reimbursement, the additional costs of the inevitable expensive, interim school repairs like the recent roof repairs, the higher costs deriving from the eventual rebound of the construction industry, and the deterioration of our ability to deliver a 21st Century education, a scenario that will negatively impact our children's future. In short, doing nothing now may very well cost the taxpayers of Meriden millions, or even tens of millions, of dollars more in the near future.

These high school projects will not be the first school construction projects Meriden has tackled. The most recent construction of Lincoln Middle School stands as a testament to our City's ability to undertake such endeavors successfully. We should look forward with pride and anticipation knowing that today's elementary school students, and the generations that will follow, and Meriden as a whole, will enjoy the benefits of successfully upgraded high schools. And isn't that what life is all about, leaving the world a better place than we found it?