As a Portland resident and member of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education, I am deeply disappointed that City Manager Jon Jennings has come out in opposition to the $70 million bond needed to repair our city’s four crumbling elementary schools.

Longfellow, Lyseth, Presumpscot and Reiche fall far short of minimal standards for student learning, health and safety. They were built in the middle of the last century and have never been renovated. Closets and hallways are used for classroom instruction. Extreme noise, heat and cold constantly interrupt learning. At Presumpscot, students attend class in broken-down trailers with no running water. Lyseth contains asbestos.

The city has been passing the buck for 22 years. But the city manager is proposing that we wait longer in hopes that perhaps someday, if the schools are allowed to get bad enough, the state will step in – even though just a couple weeks ago, the state rejected Portland’s request for funding for these schools.

This is unacceptable. Our kids shouldn’t be used as pawns in a game of budget chicken between the state and the city.

Besides, school construction is a local responsibility – statewide, local districts pay for 72 percent of school capital costs. Portland has already gotten more than its fair share, with Augusta in recent years paying for East End, Ocean Avenue and Hall schools, 86 percent of school construction over the last decade.

I stand with the majority of the Board of Education, the City Council, the mayor and the nearly 70 percent of Portland residents who support rebuilding our neighborhood schools.

Tracie Reed, NCARB, AIA, LEED AP

Maine licensed architect

Portland