Brookline Voters Reject Tax Override For Schools

BROOKLINE, MA — A controversial ballot question for the election that asked voters to weigh in on whether to raise taxes temporarily to fund two major school projects was shot down by voters, according to the unofficial election results. The question of having an override for the ninth school and renovations at the Driscoll school failed 5,169 vote to 4,299.

This means both projects are at a stand still.

"It's back to the drawing board," said School Committee member Helen Charlupski at a somber election watch party, meant to celebrate a different outcome. "It's sad,' she said.

The effort to solve a problem of over crowding in Brookline schools by creating a ninth elementary school and expanding other schools, has been about a decade in the making.

Town Meeting Members, Brookline's elected legislature of 240 representatives, previously approved moving forward with funding the Driscoll School renovation and the Baldwin, ninth School, project. This was the voters' chance to vote on funding them through a debt exclusion override.

In March, a number of residents concerned about the viability of a ninth elementary school at the old Baldwin School site, petitioned for the town to bring the two projects to voters as separate questions. The Select Board voted against that, arguing they were asking residents to approve a temporary tax increase above the state ceiling of 2.5 percent for the two projects as part of a three-pronged solution to overcrowding in schools and should be considered together.

They also argued that "unbundling" the question could put the controversial - if long-suffering - ninth school project at risk.

Brookline resident Susan Silberberg was a consultant in the early days for the ninth school selection sites. She said she remembers the Brookline School Department's Peter Rowe working hard and for hours to make sure the space issues at schools were invisible to students and parents. She said because no one could really feel the space issues, it backfired.

"The School Department did too good of a job, and now everyone is going to pay for it," she told Patch Tuesday night.

Select Board member Bernard Green said he, too, was disappointed with the outcome of the vote.

"We're going to have to sit down and figure out what we do next. We're basically back to square 1 on the overcrowding issue," he said. "Despite what anyone says, it's a real problem and is not going away in 10 years. We can't spend $180 million to not solve the problem of over enrollment."

Next steps? Work together with the folks who voted against it and see if there's a new idea out there, he said.

RELATED:

• Election Day In Brookline 2019: Results, Voter Turnout
• Brookline Candidate Endorsed By Ocasio-Cortez Wins
• Override Ballot Question On Baldwin, Driscoll

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).