I moved to Camden specifically for the schools.  I had graduated from a neighboring school district and gone away to college.  When it was time for me to return with my young family it was never a question where I wanted to move.  The reputation of the educational system was good then and it’s good now.  I got involved in the schools first as a classroom volunteer, then with the PTA and then spent 18 years on the SAD 28 school board.   

I come from a unique perspective of having intimate knowledge about what goes on in the schools as both a parent and a board member.  I joined the board when what is now the Middle School was then the High School.  The building had as many issues then as it does now.  That is why we were able to get the state to fund the new High School.  But the board patched up the “Middle School” and made some improvements so that grades 6 – 8 could use the facility…and shortly after the fifth grade was also moved into the building.  And then parts of the building needed to be closed off for students because they weren’t useable due to health and safety concerns.  And more patches were put on the building and rooms and sections of the building reconfigured to meet the different needs of the students at the school.  Through it all the administration along with the custodial staff and teaching staff did a great job of keeping the programming as unaffected as possible. 

But the day-to-day lives of the students and staff at the middle school is being impacted by the building and we have been at a point for some years now where the board had to make some tough decisions.  Do we keep putting band-aids on the building, do we do some major upgrades to the building, or do we tear down the current structure and build something that is more energy efficient, designed for middle school educational needs with spaces for more community use?

I understand that people are concerned about the cost of building new.  People may argue that we wait to pay off the High School debt first, but at what cost.  The state is currently paying a large part of the high school debt.  The current middle school is inefficient in both size and energy use so we’re paying for that.  We’re paying for repairs to a building that in simplest terms is not user friendly.  I realize there are people who can’t afford a tax increase for the schools.  I believe we can’t afford not to have one.  We are a stronger community because of our support of the school district.  Our teachers/staff are the roots of our school system.  We need to give them an educational environment to help our students grow for many years to come.

The new Camden Rockport Middle School will be a vibrant community resource.  We can’t afford not to support it.

Tori Manzi lives in Camden