The Ipswich Community Development Plan (CDP) “is a document of, by, and for the residents of Ipswich.”
It’s an essential vision document for our town. It is actually more significant than our law, since it is meant to inform the laws we make.
And it speaks directly to the current school project debate.
The plan establishes guidelines for “smart growth” and states Ipswich “should consistently use this document to guide their decision making process with regard to major Town decisions.”
It praises Ipswich for “locating facilities in and near the downtown”, and recommends “continuing this trend for adding vitality to our town center.”
Among the CDP’s important objectives are preserving the “country town” and “village character” of Ipswich, encouraging “pedestrian-friendly” growth and avoiding the “homogenization of landscape and community” that comes with suburban “sprawl.”
The plan cites the Winthrop school among its prime examples of facilities that are properly located.
The current single combined school project contradicts its key guidelines by removing a primary town asset from downtown (Winthrop) and building a single elementary school 2 1/2 miles from the center of town.
While the proposal counters the core vision of the CDP, its also ignores other sources of sound advice.
Evidence shared with town boards and the public demonstrates that smaller, neighborhood schools are not only better for kids, psychologically and educationally, but also better for property values.
Neighborhood schools in close proximity increase a home’s desirability. Ipswich is spread out over a large geographic area, and our two schools are the perfect solution to keeping a small school as close to your home as possible.
The proposed combined school on Linebrook would be more than two miles further away from the majority of our homes and our children.
It would create an unwalkable mega-school, with kids more likely to feel lost in the crowd and less connected with their teachers.
It would be larger than every other PK-6 elementary school in Essex County, and larger than 98 percent of all PK-6 elementary schools in Massachusetts.
In other words, most towns in Massachusetts also think such a super-sized school is a bad idea.
Educationally, financially, culturally, socioeconomically, environmentally — Ipswich can’t afford this mega-school.
We need to compromise on repairing our current two school buildings. Renovations (which are less than shiny new buildings) must be made to work.
Our primary focus should be on teachers and curriculum, not brick and mortar.
$70 million for a school will be followed by $30 million for public safety. Funding our current school educational needs is already precarious, let’s not make it impossible.
While certain classrooms at Winthrop are slightly undersized, ask any teacher what they would rather lose: 100 square feet of classroom space or their co-teacher?
We can still heed the guidelines of our CDP. We can still listen to the overwhelming evidence that our current small neighborhood schools are best for children.
We can still honor our previous “No” vote at June 2017’s town meeting, where further funding of the project was denied.
The school committee ignored the town’s decision by tapping into educational funds.
On May 8, say “No” to Article 5.
Keep Doyon for its children’s sake. Keep Winthrop for its children’s sake. Keep our town’s culture and property protected for everyone’s sake.
Jacob Borgman
Northgate Road