Price vs. Value

The price tag will create the first response among Sag Harbor School District residents — $35 million to $40 million is a hefty figure, even though any substantial renovation of a school building can be expected to come in at that price — but here’s hoping they take a moment to look beyond the bottom line.

Pierson High School is already an outstanding institution of learning: The quality of young people who are graduating and going on to bigger and better things is truly remarkable, and their accomplishments while in high school are head-turning. The district regularly gives students with talent the opportunity to score accomplishments in the sciences, music, drama and every other area of study. It has a track record that should give taxpayers and parents alike the confidence that improving the physical setting for those experiences will pay dividends.

The proposal that will go before voters before the end of the calendar year will be expansive, and it will deserve a much closer examination. But on the surface, the proposal looks to be rooted in improving facilities that are genuinely inadequate; the return both for students and the community is significant. No element appears to be luxury — it all seems to be meat-and-potatoes improvements.

The shortcomings of the gym are well documented. Any plan to move the locker rooms to the same floor should be welcomed. The weight room is a nice perk for the community to get some payback for the investment, since it also will be open to the public.

But the real heart of this project will benefit kids in a major way: The robotics team will finally get a dedicated space, the music programs won’t have to play musical chairs with practice rooms, and a new wet lab will give the science department a state-of-the-art tool for teaching the kind of marine science that can send more kids into the field, building on the love of the environment so many of them grew up in.

Times are tough, and it’s a big ask. But when district voters evaluate this proposal over the coming weeks and months, here’s hoping they consider not just the price but the value this investment will bring. At first glance, it seems like a winner.