Amherst has one last chance to quickly move its elementary schools into the 21st century, and we urge Town Meeting on Monday to approve the $67.2 million project that has overwhelming support from officials and backing by a majority of voters.
If Town Meeting representatives again turn down the plan for two co-located schools for Grades 2 to 6 at the Wildwood School site, $34 million in state financing would be lost and it would be years before the town has another opportunity to replace two failing buildings constructed in the 1970s.
Some blame the defeat Nov. 14 at Town Meeting on confusion about the level of support among teachers for the twin-school plan. Since then, a majority of educators at the schools that would close, Wildwood and Fort River, have stated their support for the project.
And this week Michael Greenebaum, former principal at the previously closed Mark‘s Meadow School and a Town Meeting representative from Precinct 6, said he will switch his vote to “yes” at the special Town Meeting which begins at 7 p.m. Monday.
Greenebaum said the town needs to move ahead with replacing the outdated Wildwood and Fort River schools. “The plan proposed by the School Committee has many problems, but they can be addressed over time, especially if those opposed to it run for School Committee,” Greenebaum said. “If the reconfiguration turns out to be undesirable, it can be changed.”
And School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Appy said a clear message will be delivered to Town Meeting: if this project fails, there is no guarantee about when, or if, Amherst would regain eligibility for another Massachusetts School Building Authority grant to help pay for construction costs.
Voters Nov. 8 approved a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override 6,825-6,699, but six days later Town Meeting voted 108-106 against authorizing borrowing for the project. After more than 400 residents petitioned for a revote, the special Town Meeting was scheduled. The project needs a two-thirds majority to pass; if all 254 Town Meeting members participate, 170 would have to vote “yes.”
Fort River and Wildwood were built using the open-classroom model that is now regarded as educationally unsound. Multiple classrooms share the same space, separated by partial walls that do not fully contain noise.
Also, natural light is limited in many of the classrooms and other work areas in both buildings, which are not energy efficient, have air quality problems and do not meet accessibility requirements set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If the project is not approved, Amherst would face the need for immediate repairs including replacing the roof at Fort River, estimated to cost $1.25 million, and a new $400,000 boiler at Wildwood.
While some opponents of the new school plan have argued for renovating Fort River and Wildwood, experts have concluded that would be too expensive.
The two co-located schools would each serve about 375 students and each would have its own administrators, teachers, classrooms and playgrounds. Some specialized spaces would be shared to avoid expensive duplication, including the kitchen, gymnasium, outdoor classroom and an area for science and technology projects.
The new energy-efficient building would save the School Department an estimated $500,000 annually once it is completed in 2020.
All children in the same grade would attend the same building, ending the need for redistricting, which has resulted in busing a large number of low-income students from housing developments in South Amherst away from their neighborhood school, Crocker Farm, to maintain socioeconomic parity among the existing three elementary schools.
If the project is approved, Crocker Farm would become an early learning center for children in pre-kindergarten through Grade 1. The plan also would open spaces for another 30 preschool students at Crocker farm, and school officials expect many would be from low-income families.
This school plan, which resulted from nine years of study, has the unanimous backing of the Select Board and support by four of five School Committee members. And last week, state Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, former state representative Ellen Story and her successor, Solomon Goldstein-Rose, co-wrote a column explaining why the project is in the best interest of Amherst schoolchildren.
Monday is the time for Town Meeting to follow that good advice and move forward the best option for improving education in Amherst.