On Dec. 8, the Town of Lexington voted in favor of a debt exclusion to raise property taxes and fund a new Lexington High School. But what do LHS’s own students think?
The Musket posted an Instagram poll asking whether students would have voted in favor of or against the debt exclusion. Out of 62 responses from both current students and alumni, 46 (74%) were in favor of exempting the building project from Proposition 2 ½, a state law that limits how much property tax Lexington can levy. The actual town-wide vote showed a lower percentage of supporters, at about 62%.
For LHS students who have turned 18, Monday was their first opportunity to vote. Those who voted “yes” did so due to the poor condition of the current campus, which they thought needed to be addressed immediately.
“After spending almost four years in LHS, I can tell that we need a new school building. The hallways are too small. I’ve seen mice in my English classrooms. So I thought it would be good if there was a new school,” Julia Soylemez, a senior who voted in favor of the debt exclusion, told The Musket.
Sophia Sullivan, another senior who voted “yes,” described how not passing the vote would postpone the town’s unavoidable need for a new high school.
“It would be like kicking the can down the road, and then, more grades of students will have to go through the same terrible experience that we did. I feel like it’s not worth it to have to wait another five or ten years to come up with another plan,” Sullivan said.
Asa Mele, a junior involved in canvassing in favor of the debt exclusion, noted that efforts to renovate LHS have been present since 1997, but have continuously been put off by the town through other building projects.
“I’m not against building those new things, but it’s clear that LHS was long overdue. You can’t wait another 10 years […] because it’s only going to get more expensive,” Mele said.
Regarding the $660 million cost for the new school, which would make the LHS the most expensive school in the country, students were understanding.
“I think it’s just the cost of doing business in Lexington and the greater Boston Area. The Town of Lexington spends over 100 million dollars just to fund the current LPS school system. It’s clear that education is a priority for this town,” Jai Bhalla, a senior who voted “yes,” said.
Bhalla believes the cost could go even higher, but noted that receiving grants from the Massachusetts School Building Authority depended on passing the debt exclusion.
Students cited overcrowding in hallways and eating areas, the dysfunctional HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system, and insufficient parking spots as evidence that a new school is needed. Those who supported the debt exclusion recognized dissenters’ beliefs that Bloom, the new building design, would not sufficiently address these issues.
“I thought it was interesting that the planned capacity was only the current population of LHS. The website did mention that the school could hold 3,200 [people] if needed, but I’m curious as to why they didn’t just make the planned capacity something like 3,000,” Bhalla said.
Still, students appreciated the extensive research done to create the design. Mele called its cost “a necessary evil.”
On the other hand, more than three thousand Lexingtonians voted against the proposition. Debates involving athletic accommodation, price, and design are some of their foremost concerns.
Margaret Urdan, a senior who voted against the debt exclusion, described her opinion on the new LHS’s fieldhouse as a member of the school’s cross country and track and field teams.
“A lot of our coaches fought hard to have a new field house built with the new school, and in the end, they decided to just renovate the current one, which was built when the team was 30 people,” Urdan said. “Now we have 200 kids. So it’s way too small.”
Additionally, the price of the new building raises the question of whether the project will be a cost-effective use of state and taxpayer money.
“I feel like the town kind of revolves around the school, but at the same time, we’re also using money from the state. And obviously, what needs to be done needs to be done, but I feel like that money could go elsewhere,” Sullivan said.
The unique openness of the current school leaves some hesitant about supporting the Bloom design, which only has one building and no quad.
“I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. One of my favorite things about LHS is being able to go outside and get a breath of fresh air during the school day, so I wish they’d kept that in the design,” Urdan said.
Still, regardless of opinion, first-time student voters experienced a common sense of patriotism in being able to formally participate in democracy. Many voting seniors conducted careful research on the building project to make informed decisions for themselves.
“It just became so much more real that this was a change that we could help make or not make,” Urdan said.
