There are many reasons to approve a new Camden-Rockport Middle School, but as a local realtor, I would like to offer an additional perspective that is perhaps not widely appreciated.

Within the professional real estate community, a universally held belief is that strong schools in a community directly impact property values positively within that community. Towns with faltering schools tend to have lagging property values. And towns with robust and successful schools attract families, businesses, and others to the community in turn enhancing desirability of the town and as a result boosting property values. The logic and the data are pretty straightforward — people move to and remain living in communities with strong school systems. And strong school systems need quality facilities and programming space to position students for success well into the future.

In terms of numbers, a new middle school facility will certainly cost a substantial amount ($26 million) but just providing basic operational updates and patching an old, worn-out school will cost a staggering amount too ($16 million) and this will only temporary address facility issues for approximately 20 years, until a new school would need to be constructed when costs will be even higher. Please review the proposed cost estimates circulated publicly to get a full appreciation of the financial implications between building new now and patching the existing school — the financial logic is clear and the prudent choice is to build new now and not wait.

Building a new school now will further solidify the Camden-Rockport Middle School as an educational nucleus of the local area. Any increases in property taxes will be easily off-set by increased market values for area properties. Over the course of the 20-year bond term, a property owner with a property value of $250,000 would pay approximately $5,000 additionally in total over these 20 years, while an owner with a property value of $500,000 would pay approximately $10,000 in total over the 20-year term. Simply put, one's enhanced property value would easily exceed this 20-year payout immediately, once a new school was built and would far surpass this additional tax expense over the full term of the 20-year bond timetable. In sum, a new middle school would not only solidify our exemplary reputation and commitment to education in Camden and Rockport, and preserve it well into the future, but it will also pay financial dividends to property owners who will benefit from property value stability and eventual property value growth when they choose to sell — far exceeding any tax increases in the short term.

The choice is clear — vote "yes" to build a new Camden-Rockport Middle School, and preserve our community's commitment to education while enjoying continued economic stability and property value appreciation within the local real estate market for years to come.

Alex Cohen lives in Camden and is a broker with Camden Real Estate Company