We need to address the elephant in the room

By Guest

Dear Editor:

The voters of our town will soon be asked to authorize the building of a new Galvin Middle School with a total cost, hopefully, of $241 million. Of that total, the state has pledged to reimburse us $72 million, leaving the taxpayers of Canton to come up with $169 million. This is no small amount and will be a burden on the town for many years.

In the interest of full disclosure, I began my teaching career at Canton High School in 1960, and in June of 1999 I retired from the Galvin. I am not debating the need for a new building. I am concerned about the $3.25 million elephant in the room at 1860 Washington Street, the former St. Gerard’s Church.

Now is the time to take a good, hard look at the purchase. The property was not purchased for something, but rather to prevent something — development. We have yet to come up with a clear vision for its use, and when we do, it will cost more money.

Since the purchase of the former church property in 2022, we have spent money to maintain the building, used it as a home for the food pantry, a temporary fire station, and for a voting location. This is not a sound return on our investment.

If you want my vote, sell the elephant, put the property back on the tax rolls and use the money to help pay for the new school to lighten the tax burden for all citizens.

Frank LaBollita

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