By Steve Chaggaris
Last night’s untelevised tri-board meeting (in addition the school committee meeting of May 18) revealed that there’s a robust amount of citizens who — regardless of the school committee’s majority vote — are simply not in favor of building one large elementary school.
Many of us in the Winthrop community who were largely in favor of keeping two separate elementary schools settled for one new school when it was decided that the most accessible site for this new school would be the Winthrop property.
Personally, I accepted the purported one-school solution as a compromise. (I would’ve accepted this compromise solution on the Bialek site as well, but the selectmen removed Bialek from the school committee’s consideration).
In my heart I longed for two separate elementary schools, but at least this one new school would be accessible to kids from families of all income brackets.
In the recent past, there have been some rather forceful voices of opposition to building one large school at the Winthrop site.
It seems the school committee is now responding to those voices, and attempting to redirect the project over to the Doyon site.
Committee members in support of a one-school solution seem insistent that it must be done for the benefit of students and teachers alike. It must be equitable for all.
I heard one member state something about how accessibility was initially a top priority, but now the overriding desire is to build one large school — no matter where it’s located — as not only are the existing buildings “inferior,” but that this would be best solution for teachers and students alike.
It may be so that the buildings are lacking, particularly with the older Winthrop school, but I think we can all agree that what takes place inside of these buildings is far from inferior.
The teachers of Ipswich are some of the finest in the Commonwealth. Our kids are in great hands.
Our teachers and students do deserve better facilities, but many of us just don’t buy the idea that building one large elementary school would be better for all.
Over the course of the last couple of months, I’ve learned that many share this belief. It seems evident to me, based on the two recent committee meetings, and the many conversations I’ve had with other members of this community, that the two-school supporters aren’t simply a uniformed vocal minority.
I know we all want what is best for our children, but I must reject any negative characterization of our position in this significant matter.
During the school committee meeting on May 18, I shared that my family had moved to Ipswich 15 months ago, largely because of the strength of the public schools here.
Our story is no different than many others: we want the best possible public education for our son.
I know we found that here, and we’ve also found that the people of Ipswich have welcomed us warmly.
As a professional musician, I’ve always had a deep admiration for this town, having performed here for so many passionate and devoted residents over the years.
No matter what position people have taken on this elementary school issue, I feel blessed and grateful to be here.
At that meeting I also mentioned that I grew up in a town that always had two elementary schools. When one school needed structural help, it was dealt with accordingly, and there wasn’t any appreciable fear that — if we fixed one school, somehow we wouldn’t fix the other school when the time came for that.
In fact, to this day, both of those elementary schools remain, and have been appropriately updated.
Last night the school building committee requested an additional $250,000 towards moving the project to Doyon.
Several of us left that meeting with questions, as there simply wasn’t enough time for the chairman to get to everyone in attendance.
I do hope that the upcoming special town meeting June 19 will clarify the situation for all.
What isn’t clear to me is whether or not the taxpayers are ultimately on the hook for this additional sum of $250k.
I heard the words “borrow” and “transfer” and “stabilization fund” in order to accommodate the request by the school building committee.
I tried to keep up with the terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. (Granted, I’m a drummer, not an accountant.)
As a relatively new homeowner in Ipswich, it would be awesome if the dollar amounts could be displayed in layman’s terms at the special town meeting of June 19, so that everyone in attendance is absolutely clear about what will be required of the taxpayers (or not) — and —exactly what the taxpayers are voting on.
I also heard a question about overall visibility with regard to the numbers; that it seems many taxpayers aren’t entirely aware of exactly how their property taxes will be impacted by the proposed one-school solution.
The question was met with a bit of perceptible resentment, as the argument was made that the numbers have been well exposed.
I think we’re all just trying our best to make sense of the figures that are presented — and more directly — how these costs will impact each family’s bottom line. Every family goes through this.
Another comment I heard was that all the costs were published in a local paper over two years ago, and that anyone could rummage around the online archives to find them.
While I felt puzzled by that answer, I certainly appreciated the chairman openly recognizing that this latest request of $250k (to pursue the feasibility of building one large school at Doyon) has unquestionably galvanized many of us.