Amesbury Additional: Amesbury
Elementary School:
On August 1st 2020, the Amesbury city council and school committee hosted a public forum on the construction of the new Amesbury Elementary School (AES). Last fall Amesbury voted 1,354 to 1,235 to approve a financial plan to build a new elementary school. The plan would move the current AES to a new site next to the other elementary school, Cashman Elementary. The vote also changed the two neighborhood elementary schools, into a K - 2nd grade and a 3rd - 5th grade grade school.
But a coalition dedicated to rebuilding
AES at its current location, and retaining the neighborhood K - 4th
grade school, recorded at least 350 written and 650 online
signatures. These numbers necessitated a hearing under Amesbury law.
The forum was held at the Amesbury
Middle School Landry Stadium at 10am on Saturday. The council and
committee sat in a row of chairs situated in the middle of the field,
facing one side of the stadium. The public, numbering between 50 to
100, sat in the stands facing the council. The event was broadcast
on local TV for those who could not attend. Residents who wanted to
comment on the plan, but could not be at the event, were able to
email their comments to the town.
The public asked questions or expressed
opinions, but the council and committee were not allowed to respond.
The event was merely for public comments. It was not a debate or
discussion.
The rules were as follows:
There were two microphones and people
wishing to speak could line up to use them.
Five people could be in line for each
microphone at a time.
Each questioner needed to wear a mask
They needed to state their name and
address
Each person was supposed to not spend
more than three minutes.
They were supposed to be polite.
After a brief introduction, the forum
began with one of the council aides reading public comments emailed
in advance. Over thirty minutes, the opinions of fourteenth people
were read aloud. Of these, five favored the project and nine were
against. After this the people in attendance stepped up the
microphone and shared their opinions. They were overwhelmingly
against the project for the new AES. This turnout wasn't surprising,
considering the forum was created by and for dissenters.
While people did share their names, I
don't intend to assign opinions to individuals. This article will
summarize the opinions, and include those of both the emailers and
public speakers.
Those in favor of reconsidering the
project were worried about using land on Woodsom Farm. Woodsom Farm
is a 370 acre area purchased in 1989 to prevent it from being turned
into housing. It's a popular place for hiking, sports, and other
outdoor recreation. A significant minority of residents are
resistant to building anything on the farm. Another resident claimed
that the amount of Woodsom Farm land being used for the project is
less than 1% of the total farm area. The new AES plan also requires
removing the baseball fields on the Woodsom Farm property. Critics
want to preserve the baseball fields and worried about the cost of
building new ones.
Another criticism was that the new
project includes an overly expansive basketball court. A different
resident replied that Amesbury currently doesn't have enough courts
to meet demand.
Dissenters also thought that the
planned school was too large and therefore too expensive. Others
expressed an opinion that it was too fancy for little kids. They
said elementary students didn't need the modern technology and
devices planned for the library and classroom to learn.
Plenty of speakers were against the
plan to eliminate a neighborhood school system. One woman delivered
a charismatic speech infused with nostalgia, because she wanted
children and grandchildren to be able to walk to school. Another
person strangely implied that AES is a location, not a school.
Some people claimed that other people
didn't know what they were voting for. They claimed that the public
was deceived. According to these people, who were not themselves
deceived, the Yes to AES signs implied that the vote was for a
refurbished building at the current location. People also said that
some people might not have know about the vote in the first place, as
it was scheduled a week before the mayoral vote.
One or two people worried about what
would happen to the old AES lot if it was abandoned. They demanded to know whether it remain
an eye sore, be converted into expensive
condominiums, be used for low income housing, or some other project.
Citizens worried about the impact on
wetlands. According to the city council, one of the issues with
rebuilding the school on the current site is wetlands. Since the
original school had been built, wetlands had expanded on the
property, up to and around the current building. It would be nearly
impossible to construct a new building under current law, because of
the wetlands. Many protesters expressed a sense of conspiracy, as if
those who determined the extent of the wetlands were lying (they
expressed a similar disbelief about the costs of refurbishing the
current AES building, which they thought was intentionally inflated).
Residents that live near the site of
the proposed project worried about increased traffic, and the
possibility of water runoff and flooding.
One speaker implied that the project
for the new AES was like the Covid pandemic, though they didn't
coherently explain the simile. Another explained that the economic
downturn prohibited the creation of a new school. Some even thought
that a new school might be unnecessary because of the coronavirus.
Almost all people against the project
expressed their support for a new school, but only if it was in the
current AES spot.
While speakers were generally polite,
and able to control their emotions, one or two leveled serious
accusations against the authorities. One man accused the councils of
intentionally dividing the community with the project. Another man
lambasted the councils as stubborn and intransigent. He implied that
the vote was like being held at gunpoint. There was a lot of
clapping for that statement.
Clapping seemed to be entirely reserved
for one side. The people who spoke against the project received
overwhelming enthusiasm, while the few who spoke for the new AES
received no applause.
People in favor of the project said
that the vote was fair, and the community couldn't continually
re-litigate it over a minority opinion. It would be impossible to
please everyone, and the project should still go forward. Others
said that they liked the project, and they trusted that the agencies
involved (MSBA, local and state environmental agencies) had searched
for the best possible solution.
For everyone attending, the town
provided a pamphlet explaining why the project had been designed in
the new location. This five page document credited the expansive
wetlands as one of the key reasons for not using the old site. It
also cited the difficulty of teaching the students during the
rebuilding of the old school, a lack of parking for staff, and
extensive construction which would impact abutting buildings.
They reiterated that the seven planning
meetings, which
were open to the public, considered seven possible locations, and
the majority involved found the chosen site the best. The document
reiterated the age of the current AES and the need for a new
building. It mentioned that if the project did not go forward there
were costs merely to repair the old building. The paper also stated
that if the project was canceled the Massachusetts School Building
Authority, a private-public agency dedicated to assisting towns build
affordable schools, would withdraw its $25 million funding. Even
with a new plan, which would take at a few years, Amesbury might not
be able to reclaim that funding later. On top of that, the City
would owe the MSBA $2 million in spent costs for the planning.
The pamphlet also included a letter to
the current Mayor, Kassandra Gove, expressing MSBA's support for the
project, but explaining that canceling the project would put the city
back at the beginning, applying for a grant. The MSBA only approved
23 of 93 grants the year Amesbury applied.
One of the features of the public forum
was the lack of a unified dissent. While the online petition urges,
“our elected officials to reconsider using the existing Amesbury
Elementary School location at 24 South Hampton Rd for the
new/renovated AES,” the public forum wasn't as coherent. The
solutions expressed included; a second vote to confirm the project,
cancel the project but do nothing, pause the project indefinitely,
repair the current AES, or rebuild the current AES.
As a resident of Amesbury I voted for
the project. I accept that it is not perfect. Any project will
encounter difficulties regardless of the location. I don't believe the
proposed site is as deficient as the petitioners imply. I attended a
K-2nd and 3rd - 6th grade school
system, and I don't believe it a less effective structure. It also
seems more equitable to build a new school that all students will
attend, rather than a school only half the town will use. As additional information, I
have two sons, one of whom would attend the new AES if it is built
according to schedule.
It's clear the town needs as new AES.
It was built in the 1960's. It's old and unsuitable for education.
If the current project is canceled it could be a decade before
students see a new school. Meanwhile the old one must be maintained.
Perhaps the oddest idea is that the coronavirus should prevent or
pause the building of the school. Economic conditions are tough for
many, but optimistically students will be back in school full time by
the start of the 2021/2022 school year. This project shouldn't be
delayed because students will not be in the building for a year.
Schools are not built in a day, or even a year with all the planning
involved. Unless one believes students will never return to schools, the coronavirus isn't a reason to reconsider.
Amesbury needs a new school. It may
not be the one everyone wants, but it seems like an acceptable plan.
I trust the people who designed it and stand by it. I can't believe
this, but as someone who wrote an article
or two
pleading with people (at least in solid blue states) not to vote for
Biden, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
A follow up article will be posted
after the School Committee and Town Council discuss the opinions
expressed by the public at a future meeting.
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