Burlington, Vermont Students attend school at Old Macy’s – NECN

Voters in Vermont’s largest city are considering a ballot question this election season involving the future of their high school.

The question is whether the Burlington school district should be able to borrow up to $165 million to pay for the new high school and tech center.

The former Burlington High School building was found to be contaminated with toxic substances believed to be left over from construction materials.

The new building will occupy the same site after demolition and renovations and will replace a temporary school housed in a vacant department store building downtown.

Claire Wool, volunteer chair of the Burlington School Board, said the expiration of the former Macy’s lease means children may have to switch to distance learning if a new school isn’t built in time. In an interview with NECN & NBC10 Boston on Wednesday, she insisted that the city’s families and people who plan to move here deserve better.

“The department store is no longer ours after 2025,” Wool emphasized, urging her neighbors to vote “yes” on the ballot question. “We are in a temporary department store. We pay a million and a half dollars in rent with our education dollars going to the landlord at Macy’s. We need to invest this money in the future of BHS.”

Burlington GOP Chairman Christopher-Aaron Felker acknowledged the need for a new school but said he would not vote on the bond issue, hoping the cost of the project could be reduced to lessen the impact on property taxes.

“The group that will suffer the most are the renters,” Felker argued, betting on higher rents after tax increases on landlords. “At this time, we should not consider any further increase in the cost of living in Burlington.”

Wool said she and other school board members will work hard to reduce the total cost of the project — currently estimated at $190 million — by seeking charitable or federal funds to clean up the toxic materials.

The Office of the Secretary of State provides information on voter registration on its websiteas well as this list of Frquestions are asked equally.

Election Day information in Burlington is available on the city’s website: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/CT/Sample-Ballots-Warnings-and-Notices