OPINION ... "Providing Education, Supporting the Greater Good"

Medfield MA

19 July, 2021

10:34 PM

Description

This is an OPINION piece, submitted by Medfield resident, Jeff Hyman. Providing Education, Supporting the Greater Good "When someone asks, "Where you from?" I enjoy saying "Medfield," because what follows without fail is, "Oh, that's a nice town." Medfield is a nice town, known for its bucolic lands, the best sledding hill for miles and good schools. As a resident of nearly 30 years, it's important that Medfield continue to preserve long-term sustainability on several fronts, including, road and sidewalk safety, low tax rates for an aging population, cultural vibrancy, open space, and vital water resources. Not long ago at a town visioning session, I was paired with young moms new to town. Genuinely curious, I asked, "What brought you to Medfield?" One response: "We educate and evacuate." Picking up on my confused expression, they explained that some families arrive to educate their children, and once the last child graduates, they depart. They exclaimed, "There's not enough good restaurants and other amenities that other towns have." This response generated immediate concern. If an "educate and evacuate" pattern repeats itself, who will be engaged to ensure our community thrives over the long term. No town can survive based exclusively on its schools and must find approaches that appeal to all residents so that families stay in town and remain engaged long-term. We must focus efforts to improve infrastructure such as crumbling roads and missing sidewalks, preserve natural resources, protect our drinking water, and manage growth. The challenge of competing priorities is evident with the grade school subject, and the stakes are high with a Dale street vs. Elm street scenario. The community must consider the largely differing benefits, costs, and risks to ensure the best experience for students, while maintaining environmental stewardship and minimizing cost to tax payers. Based on my professional expertise working with architects, engineers, and construction professionals, I believe with careful planning and design the current Dale Street location is a viable option for students, teachers, and the community at large. Siting an additional building on Elm Street eliminates a large parcel of open space - an important and documented buffer zone established to protect two town-critical wells. Further, open space supports biodiversity, improves air quality, cools the planet, supports pollinators, and provides food and habitat for wildlife. Medfield open space and water resources are finite and must be preserved for the generations to come; once gone, they're gone for good. Regarding a building structure, an "Adaptive Reuse" design and construction strategy at Dale Street is possibly the best overall path, blending the best of renovated existing structures with newly added space and amenities to meet educational and social demands. Benefits may include: Creation of vibrant architecturally significant and bicycle friendly student experiences near town center, with modern classrooms, and state-of-the-art technology. Far less environmental impact by using valuable portions of existing structures, which have expended carbon impacts over many decades. A new building, even with LEED aspects, has a greater total carbon impact – especially when considering excavation, earth removal, extraction manufacture, transport, building and disposal of waste materials. Additional opportunities to meet education and recreation needs on one downtown campus by building a multi-use, year-round complex instead of separate buildings on different sites. This would save taxpayers money by maintaining our current building inventory, and not require costly perpetual maintenance for yet another facility. Approximately 55% of Medfield residents do not have children in the schools; families with their youngest child in second grade will not directly benefit from a new grade school building based on project timing; and there are some residents that simply won't support any costly building project. Taking all of this into account, along with the requirement of a 2/3rd majority for any school building project, I believe the Dale Street location is a viable option, and one that many voters would support. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated long ago: "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." I believe a more creative approach and re imagining Dale Street School to serve education and community helps ensure quality of life for Medfield residents of all ages."