We acquired the Long Lane tract two years ago for $16 million because it is of strategic importance to the future of the University. It ensures that the University will have room to grow without putting pressure on surrounding city neighborhoods. It will steer University expansion away from sections of the city that are more valuable for economic and residential purposes, particularly the Village District. We believe the acquisition benefits our neighbors in many ways, and that it will help limit Wesleyan's impact on the city's tax rolls. The acquisition guarantees Middletown's PILOT funding from the state. We believe the acquisition of Long Lane has already benefited the city in important ways and that the specific uses we have planned for the site, described in an earlier statement, will benefit both Wesleyan and Middletown in the distant future.

I know that the board hears occasionally from citizens who feel that Wesleyan contributes little to the community. I know that we are not always perfect neighbors, especially for households within hearing distance of our dormitories on weekends. But the relationship between the University and the town is fundamentally sound and from my point of view delightful. Middletown is one of Wesleyan's greatest assets, and I believe the reverse is also true.

Perhaps the University's most important contribution is the intangible value that comes from intellectual, cultural and athletic programming that occur at Wesleyan and in which more and more Middletown residents participate. There is the more tangible value of being the hometown of one of the country's very best universities. Finally, there is the entirely tangible value, as the Middletown Press noted on September 14, of an annual payroll in excess of $30 million paid to employees living in Middletown, $13 million in annual payments to vendors in the city, and 31,000 hours of student community service-much of it directed toward the school district.

So, I hope I am contributing to the debate by reaffirming Wesleyan's very strong commitment to Middletown, and so affirming that Wesleyan plans to keep and use the Long Lane property it has purchased.

In the time since Wesleyan entertained the school board's interest in the western portion of the Long Lane tract, our own planning has proceeded. The western tract was the portion we discussed selling to the district, because it is not contiguous with the campus. It did not, as the board determined, yield enough buildable land for your needs. With respect to the eastern tract, it would serve neither Wesleyan's interests nor the city's to surrender lands the University needs for its own long-term academic and athletic purposes. In either case, Wesleyan would need to recover the cost of the property, which, as I understand it, would add to the cost of the school project.

Two final points:

First, delay. The property belongs to Wesleyan but it is occupied by the state. We know the requirement for remediation will be extensive, so it is not at all certain that the town could begin a school on your present schedule even if the land were available.

Finally, proximity. There certainly are benefits to involving university students and faculty in the public schools. Our students benefit enormously from the mentoring and tutoring they do with Middletown students. But there are potential disadvantages in housing student populations of significantly different age and maturity in close proximity to each other. Building a high school at Long Lane would not create synergies for Wesleyan and the city school district that do not now exist or would not exist with any of the other sites under consideration.

In closing, given the urgent need for the school district to address its overcrowding problem, I urge the Board to move discussion of the high school plan to the most viable location options. Thanks once again to the board for this opportunity to address you. My colleague and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.