AMHERST — Voters are making a final decision on a $66.37 million plan to construct twin elementary schools at the current Wildwood School site at the town election today, with polls open until 8 p.m.
Alexandra Monesson-Olson, a mother of two young children and a candidate for Town Meeting in Precinct 5, was one parent who came out to support the referendum for the new co-located, Grades 2-6 375-student schools, which would replace both Wildwood and Fort River schools.
“I think it’s important for all to have equal access to resources and efficient learning environments,” Monesson-Olson said.
Her oldest child, who is 4 ½, will be at Crocker Farm School next year, but a likely move by her family will put her children at Wildwood for their elementary years.
The referendum vote is seeking to overturn two Town Meeting votes in which the authorization to borrow money was defeated, despite support by voters in November of the Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion 6,818 to 6,696.
Other than a smattering of signs for and against the school project, and for candidates, set up near polling places, there was little visible evidence of the election Tuesday morning.
Just before 10 a.m., North Amherst resident Laura Fitch stood along Route 63, near the Precinct 1 polling site, holding a small hand-made sign in support of the school project. But only a handful of people were heading into the Amherst Zion Korean Church community hall to vote.
By mid-morning, just over 100 people had voted at Precinct 1, out of about 1,900 voters eligible to cast ballots.
Two poll checkers were on hand, including Vincent O’Connor of Summer Street, who voted against the school project twice as a Town Meeting member.
O’Connor compared the effort to overturn Town Meeting’s vote to the aborted effort to build a new elementary school on Old Farm Road in the 1990s. He said many parents don’t support the education plan that would turn Crocker Farm into an early childhood education center and eliminate the traditional schools.
He also pointed to the challenge of exceeding the thresholds needed for the referendum, which include getting a two-thirds majority to overturn Town Meeting, and at least 2,983 votes in favor, or 18 percent of the active voters.
But sitting across from him Nina Mankin, also of Summer Street, said she hoped the project would win support this time.
“It’s a question about how many people come out to vote,” said Mankin, acknowledging that getting the project passed will be difficult. “I’m hearing a lot of people changing opinions on the schools, which is very encouraging.”
Voters will also decide races for School Committee, Select Board and trustees for the Jones Library, as well as Town Meeting races in all but one of the nine precincts.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
