School Building Impact
This page analyzes the impact of Lincoln’s approach to its school building renovation, which played out roughly between 2010 and 2020, on the town’s debt and finances. My goal here is not to relitigate past town meetings, but to help residents understand a major contributing factor to our current debt.
School Renovation History
| 2012 Proposal | 2018 Proposal | |
|---|---|---|
| State contribution (MSBA) | $20.9M | $0 |
| Town contribution | $29M | $93.9M |
| Total budget | $49.9M | $93.9M |
| Town Meeting vote | 54% | 89% |
| Ballot vote | N/A | 68% |
The 2012 vote failed to achieve the required super majority (2/3rds). Resident objections fell into a few categories, including concerns about the cost, as well as the desire to have more local control over design without being constrained by MSBA requirements.
If the 2012 project had proceeded, and Lincoln had bonded the entire town contribution (i.e. not using any free cash or stabilization), we would have about $20M in principal outstanding in 2026. The outstanding debt for the 2018 project is currently about $78M, a marginal difference of about $58M.
In other words, we owe about $58M more by building a school on our own with complete local design control than if we had done the project with state funding in 2012.