All Components of Facilities Plan are Critically Necessary to Address Known, Urgent Needs
To the Editor:
As residents of Princeton since 1998, we feel very fortunate to live here. Our town’s many public and nonprofit institutions (library, pool, parks and playing fields, schools, universities, Arts Council, McCarter…) make Princeton uniquely vibrant, and enhance the quality of life for all. Directly and indirectly, we all benefit every day from the investments made in the past to build and maintain them.
For the life of our town, our public schools are the most essential of all these institutions. And what distinguishes Princeton Public Schools from similar districts — small class sizes; neighborhood elementary schools that foster strong bonds among families and children; excellent arts, music, STEM, language, and enrichment programs K-12 — can only occur in school buildings that have sufficient classroom capacity, space that is programmed for all of these curricular activities, and most importantly, up-to-date, efficient HVAC infrastructure necessary for safe, healthy learning environments.
Ensuring that our school buildings have appropriate space, capacity, and infrastructure is well worth investing in as a community. We all have a stake in maintaining the strength, performance, and reputation of our public schools. They are the bedrock of our homes’ values, a driver of healthy commerce, a keystone of our civic life, and the center of Princeton’s diverse, dynamic social web.
We appreciate our elected School Board members for their thoughtful, prudent proposal for the conservative stewardship of these public assets. None of the projects in any of the three components of the facilities plan are luxuries or “nice to have” features. All components are critically necessary to address known, urgent needs, and are essential for preserving the educational quality and community-building character of our wonderful public schools.
As we eagerly watch the exciting progress of our town’s growth and look forward to welcoming more children who will benefit from attending Princeton’s public schools as our now-adult sons did, we urge our fellow residents to join us in voting “Yes” on all three school facilities bond referendum questions on your vote-by-mail ballot, or in person on January 28.