Yarmouth school renovations reveal the bigger picture of the town’s changing demographics
by Harrison Pendleton and Milo Wiebus
November 17, 2020
November 17, 2020
Yarmouth Schools K-12 enrollment has been increasing by 32 new students every year for almost 20 years. Some view this as fantastic, but some do not. This number is not only a representation of our fantastic schools, but a direct result of our community, and how it attracts families. Our small town of Yarmouth, Maine has not changed in many years, but this trend might be coming to an end.
In Fall 2018, a much different time than what we are living in today, Yarmouth voters approved a 52 million dollar plan (which will be paid for little by little each year, so this really adds a couple million to the school budget per year for taxpayers) that would fund additions to all four Yarmouth schools. A lot of this money will come out of taxpayers’ pockets, which begs an important question: how do residents feel about this, and why?
“[Education] is the foundation of our democracy.”
"The biggest [reason] was enrollment," Superintendent Dr. Andrew Dolloff said about why he decided to push for a renovation project to all four schools in Yarmouth. Dr. Dolloff believes that these renovations will directly help Yarmouth attract new families, which means more small business, and more consumers throughout the town. Dr. Dolloff explained that education “leads to greater prosperity for everybody." Dr. Dolloff spoke in a very poetic fashion. Maybe this was because he knew he was being quoted, or maybe he just loves education… he is the superintendent after all.
The fact of the matter is that Yarmouth is a very nice town. According to Dolloff, because the average income for a family living here is so high, we don't get much funding from the state to help with these kinds of projects; instead the state helps out in less wealthy districts that need the help. There are many towns across the state of Maine that look much different from Yarmouth, and it is important that we appreciate the beautiful state and town that we are so fortunate to call home.
"It'll be noticeable… it'll be noticeable for people." Dr. Dolloff said when asked about the raises in taxes in Yarmouth. "[To the] people who encourage me to be cautious about raising taxes, they still value education… it's the foundation of our democracy." Throughout the twenty-or-so minute long interview, Dolloff presented reason after reason defending the educational system and why these renovations were so crucial.
Ted O'Meara, the vice-chair of the Economic Advisory Board in Yarmouth, backed Dr. Dolloff up by saying, "A better school system is always going to be a good thing for the economy because it attracts new families." O'Meara deeply emphasized the fact that he's "not pretending to speak for the whole board, although as a board we are very supportive of having a strong school system."
Dr. Dolloff explained that three of the four schools are slated to be done December 30th. We are a blue-ribbon school that prides itself on not only the outstanding academic standards that our school pushes for, but also a vast choice of extracurricular activities that range from state-title winning sports teams, to debate teams that nurture nationally recognized debaters. All of this combined makes for a pretty outstanding education!
"The town's going to grow the way it's going to grow," Dr. Dolloff said when asked if he thought the school's renovations would change the fact that Yarmouth is a small town. The construction is one way Yarmouth has had to compensate for the growing student and overall population. There are many issues in Yarmouth stemming from this growing population, and they range far and wide. A widespread growing need for more affordable housing is just one of many long term problems that Yarmouth will need to address in the upcoming years.
When asked about how the construction represents growth of the school and the town of Yarmouth, YHS teacher and former student Chris Hill said: “The renovations are definitely necessary for the town’s growth, and certainly in the past five years or so there’ve been quite a bit of new developments and housing projects.” Hill also stated that the renovations would “revent classrooms from being crowded. Right now we have several teachers that travel, so they may get a permanent room which will be beneficial.”
Overall, the construction at Yarmouth will do a lot for the incoming student body. It will give some teachers the opportunity to have a classroom to themselves, which would greatly benefit students. The new weight room will provide support for student athletes since it’s a big upgrade on the current weight room. Looking at the bigger picture, these changes also signify that Yarmouth is a growing town which has become a popular spot for families looking to live in Maine.