To the Editor,

I voted NO on the 2 new schools.  I listed my reasons: In my opinion we do not need 2 High Schools and I still do not believe they can be built for $350 million.

Now the School Dept. is having second thought. They stated in the December 1st Beacon that they may need to cut some costs and eliminate some things to stay at or below $350 million. They said one thing they may need to eliminate are the solar panels which they said was a great idea back in the late summer.

WHY DIDNT THEY TELL US THIS BEFORE THE ELECTION?

So now they will have a third party reevaluate the costs. WHY DIDN’T THEY DO THAT BEFORE THE ELECTION?

Sooooooo, here’s my $350 million dollar question?

If the School Department gets a second bite at the apple, will the Taxpayers get the same second bite on their vote ?

If the numbers come in higher than $350,000,000 for both schools or if the School Department needs to cut ANYTHING to come in at  or under the $350,000,000 then this deal wasn’t what the voters were presented, expected or voted for.

IF THAT’S THE CASE… THE VOTERS MUST HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE ON THE “REAL NUMBERS” BEFORE THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT COMES TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE ANY REQUEST FOR A SINGLE DOLLAR.

Ed Ladouceur

Councilman Ward 5