OPINION: "The Medfield Way"

Medfield MA

24 October, 2021

9:55 PM

Description

Letter of OPINION: The choice is simple: a new school at Wheelock or no new school. The Medfield Way Medfield is a special place. But you already know that. It's why my wife and I moved here five years ago to raise our kids and put them through our truly incredible public schools; it's a school system I equate to a Goldilocks experience: not too big, not too small. Let's be honest: our schools are the foundation of what makes this town what it is. We are only the present custodians of a school system that has a long history of providing a grounded yet high-caliber foundation for our most precious commodity: our children. At the same time, the schools return our investment by providing a concrete foundation that underpins our rising property values. Every once in a while, an investment like our schools requires an infusion of capital. Always making this investment is the Medfield Way. We happily did it a few years ago when the district asked for additional teachers. But in a construction sense, it's something that hasn't been done in two decades. We've reached a critical point. Building a new elementary school in Medfield is long overdue, but there is only one clear choice on November 7: voting YES. Voting no will only ensure higher tax increases in the years to come. Nearly everyone in the conversation about a new school agrees the Dale Street building must be replaced. If we don't build a new school now, with support guaranteed from the state, this project will only become more expensive. This is an $81 million project – with $19.5 million coming from the MSBA, leaving the town to cover about $62 million. That total also fixes environmental problems with parking at the Wheelock/soccer site that the town must fix regardless. And, should the town approve, it offers our wonderful revenue-generating Parks and Recreation Department the opportunity to expand into the Dale Street School building for $1-2 million, a fraction of the cost of building a new facility and potentially raising more money for town coffers. Voting no guarantees delays and almost certainly the loss of MSBA funds, as the MSBA itself says it cannot "indefinitely tie up funds allocated for a project that lacks local support." Don't be distracted by those who argue we can just ask for extensions. So, then what? Likely the best-case scenario is we'll be back here at the end of this decade with a project that will cost $100 million or more, which we may very well have to pay in full. The Medfield Way requires we ensure our schools have the resources necessary to adapt to ever-evolving times. As numerous teachers have passionately described at town forums, there are real, tangible education benefits to having grades two through five on the same campus, notably for special education. An Elm Street site also minimizes the constant transitions for kids, which are difficult for some, while providing ample open space for outdoor learning. Multiple town boards looked at the options and all chose Wheelock – unanimously. Renovating Dale Street or building a new school there were both considered but moving the school to Elm Street was the decisive choice. The Medfield Way also requires us to acknowledge the burden our students and teachers have carried these past two years. Building a new school behind Wheelock minimizes the disruption a massive construction project at Dale Street would cause. To ask our students and teachers to spend the next two or three years in modular classrooms without proper library, gym, cafeteria or special instruction space is unnecessary and unfair. At the end of the day, the site is not up for debate. The choice is simple: a new school at Wheelock or no new school. The MSBA requires towns to choose a site to get their money, something we'd be foolish to turn down. Voting no does not move the project to Dale. All it does is guarantee we'll be back here down the road with a more expensive project. Sadly, this town has already put the Medfield Way at risk by delaying this project far too long already. Our kids and teachers deserve better than the decrepit Dale Street School. Let's give them the building they deserve and take the state's money while we've got the chance. Show the generation of kids in our schools now that the Medfield Way still means this town prioritizes education. The time to vote YES is now. Ben Simmoneau, Green Street