By Elizabeth Harkness
I have been enchanted by Ipswich since my first visit to town years ago. I feel very fortunate to be a resident here now. I think most can agree that this is a phenomenal place to live and a fantastic place to raise a family.
Despite what currently transpires at the national and global level, again, I have felt fortunate to be in a place as compassionate and caring as Ipswich.
Though opinions and positions differ, as they should in any healthy society, in the past I’ve found the environment respectful and open to dialogue. The contentious rhetoric that has developed around the school building project in Ipswich is truly disheartening.
There is plenty to debate about the process and how we’ve come to this point.
Why, for example, the town prematurely eliminated a two-school solution? Why an SOI (statement of interest) was not submitted for Doyon in 2015 or 2016?
What, if anything, we would be debating if Ipswich had three or four elementary schools, versus two?
Why a renovation/addition approach for a 420- or 490-student Winthrop was not thoroughly investigated (or if so, how to find this information)…?
Moving past that, the votes on both Article 1 and Article 2 at special town meeting on June 27 showed the town is lacking the support required for a large combined school at Doyon.
The notion that the school committee would consider going against the voice of town meeting to procure a risky $250,000 elsewhere in our children’s education funds is unsettling and undemocratic.
Article 1 asked for a quarter of a million dollars, and fell short of gaining the required support by 101 votes.
This coming fall, just months later, 2/3 support will again be needed to fund the school project. With no town consensus, that money will have come and gone for nothing.
Beyond the financial implications, the precedent and perception that would come with such a decision is not one by which I believe any of us wish to characterize our town.
I have tremendous respect for the citizens who volunteer to serve as representatives on town boards and committees. Likewise, I admire and appreciate that many residents are impassioned by this issue.
In that sense, we have come together. It’s been asked repeatedly at town meetings, and in all too many Facebook comments, “What if Winthrop families were asked to wait while Doyon was first rebuilt?”
Any two-school advocate I’ve spoken with has readily said they would do so if possible. I fall into this category myself.
As a solution, why not responsibly and thoughtfully renovate each of these schools, simultaneously and within our means?
Two school advocates support the existing small school model because it is right for the future of all Ipswich children, and right for the future of the town.
As it’s been said, Winthrop families love their school and Doyon families love their school.
Let’s bring the community back together, and unite around an affordable, equitable, and creative plan to simultaneously renovate both the Doyon and Winthrop schools.