This is the School Committee’s strongest written opposition to the sale that they have now accepted.  Their own pro-formas show the financial advantages of no-sale compared to sale, and they were done assuming that the Trust principal would be wasted over time (note the last line of the pro-formas “Value in 2011 dollars”, which decreases over time).  Now that the court has required this value to remain constant, that means there will be even less money available for the schools than these pro-formas show if a sale were to go through.  It is also worth noting that these pro-formas only cover 5 years; see specifically paragraphs 40-42 of the opposition for the School Committee’s own dire projections for a sale past the 5 year mark.  We tend to think that the opinions in paragraph 42 are overly pessimistic, but even with more “realistic” numbers the sale option – even if it were legal – is, put plainly, an awful deal.

Probate – SC – 110126 – Summary Judgment Opposition

Probate – SC – 110126 – Pro-Formas

It is important to note that no public vote of the School Committee was taken between this scathing indictment of a sale and their acceptance of a sale.