And so the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee appointed to to consider what to do with Academy School is "Keep It". Here are my thoughts on why every property owner, and even why every parent, should be very concerned that this recommendation is not in the best interest of our town.
Property owners, whether or not they are parents of school children, ought to be concerned about a few things: (1) Maintaining and enhancing the quality of life and education in our town, (2) Increasing desirability of our town to prospective new homeowners and businesses and (3) Maintaining affordability and a reasonable property tax level.
There is one truth that we all need to acknowledge if we want "all of the above". If we don't want to cut spending, we need to increase our tax revenue base. It simply can't work any other way. In Madison, and in Madison alone of all our surrounding towns, the Town and the Schools is the largest employer. CL&P is the top town tax payer, as they are in surrounding towns, but Madison has far fewer large-employer businesses than surrounding towns, meaning that the average home owner must bear a larger percentage of the tax burden. Great, we want to keep our town "small" and not attract too many businesses, but at the same time, we want better quality education and large land purchases.
We simply MUST challenge the committee’s recommendation and our officials on the decision to “keep” Academy School for any town use. Renovation for any purpose is simply cost prohibitive. Development of the land for tasteful housing will not only bring in tax revenue, but will enhance the vitality of downtown. It is short sighted to look at the “percentage” of effect on our tax revenue. Fields must be included in the sale… we will have new fields at our new $12MM park. Without big businesses to take on some of the tax burden, it is our only prudent choice.
