AMHERST — As a classroom teacher at Fort River School, Timothy Austin sees firsthand the challenges the 1973 building poses, from an open classroom layout that increases noise levels and reduces natural light to a location that allows the school to harbor mold.
“All different factors combined are a big deal for teachers, and children, as well,” Austin said.
So Austin said he appreciates that the Select Board, acting on a citizen petition Wednesday, scheduled a special session of Town Meeting for Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the middle school auditorium to reconsider its decision to vote down a project that would construct two co-located elementary schools at the Wildwood School site on Strong Street.
“In order to solve the issues with Wildwood and Fort River, this is it,” said Austin, observing that some of his colleagues have either left the school district or requested transfers to other buildings because of the condition of Fort River. “If this goes through, all students and teachers will be in a high-quality learning environment.”
The $67.2 million project, which would receive $34 million in support from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, was rejected by a 108-106 vote last month, falling well short of the two-thirds majority needed to authorize borrowing. Voters earlier in November narrowly approved a Proposition 2½ tax-cap override for the project, which would lead to all elementary school students in Grades 2 through 6 being educated in the conjoined buildings, and Crocker Farm School being converted into an early childhood education center.
While some have praised the project for creating modern classrooms and promoting equity, others have criticized it for being too large, with both schools holding up to 375 students, and lamenting the loss of neighborhood schools.
The Select Board was required to set a special Town Meeting after more than 400 signatures were collected in a campaign led by Rebekah Demling, a parent, Crocker Farm teacher and Precinct 7 representative. Demling argues that the Town Meeting vote was taken with insufficient information, including presentation of a survey indicating teachers are opposed to the project, despite more than 160 teachers signing on to endorse it.
Peter Demling, who attended the Select Board meeting with his wife, said Town Meeting never got a sense of the teacher support. Efforts to get this information out are continuing. “It’s been very encouraging so far,” he said.
The project must be approved by the end of March or else Amherst will lose the MSBA support and have to begin submitting letters of interest again. Amherst officials had submitted letters of interest for several years before being selected to join the process in 2013.
Grethe Camp, in her 21st year as a special education teacher at the Intensive Learning Center housed at Wildwood, is another teacher who supports the project.
“I think we need new schools,” Camp said. “The environment is not right for students, or for teachers.”
Limited handicapped accessibility and lack of privacy reduce the dignity for some of the students she teaches. Having the two schools share the same property will improve this specialized instruction, Camp said, and reduce the amount of time professionals such as occupational and physical therapists spend traveling between the buildings.
Only one resident opposed to the project attended the Select Board meeting, Maria Kopicki of the Save Amherst’s Small Schools group.
The Select Board supported both the override and the borrowing in the fall, but didn’t take a position on the project Wednesday.
“Today is what we were obligated to do based on the law,” Chairwoman Alisa Brewer said.
Brewer said she expects the board to talk about the project at its Jan. 9 meeting and determine whether it should again advocate for approval by issuing press releases.
The Select Board also reserved the auditorium for the nights of Feb. 1 and 2, and in case of inclement weather learned that the moderator has discretion to call off the meeting or move its site.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
