Opinion: Support New Medfield Elementary School, Wheelock Campus

MEDFIELD MA — The following opinion piece was written by the For Our Kids, For Our Town PAC pertaining to the Article 22 Dale Elementary School vote at town meeting.

We write in full support of the New Elementary School at Wheelock Campus, and urge everyone to attend Annual Town Meeting on May 17 to vote against the Citizens’ Petition seeking reconsideration of the Wheelock Campus Plan (Article 29). Quite simply, the Wheelock Campus Plan is the best choice for our kids, and the best decision for our Town.

Best choice for our kids:

• The creation of a united Wheelock Campus for grades 2-5 drives educational efficiencies through shared staff amongst the buildings, improved teacher collaboration, and will foster a greater sense of community amongst the elementary grades.
• The 2-5 configuration aligns with the District’s educational philosophy.
• Even after construction, the Wheelock campus offers open space for learning and recreation unrivaled by any other potential site.

Best decision for our Town:

• Keeps the project on track and eliminates risk of losing $17-$18 million in financial support from the Commonwealth, along with $1 million that the Town has already invested to complete feasibility study.
• Avoids having to go back to the beginning of the multi-year process with little chance of receiving state aid for at least the next decade.
• Creates the possibility of converting current elementary school building on Dale Street for other Town uses, most notably a new home for the Parks and Recreation Department. As we all know, Parks and Recreation desperately needs a new facility as well, and updating this building for the Department’s purposes will be far less expensive to the Town than building a brand new facility elsewhere (a recent projection for a new facility was $10 million, far eclipsing what it would take to renovate the Dale Street location).

The Wheelock Campus Plan is the result of years of study, discussion, and open process. It has been approved unanimously by the School Building Authority, the School Committee, and the Select Board. The Warrant Committee has not had the chance to be heard on the Plan yet, since it will not come before Town Meeting for a vote until the Fall. However, the Warrant Committee voted unanimously to recommend dismissal of Article 29. Among the reasons cited by the Warrant Committee was the fact that the Plan has been developed through a fair and open process, and the next step in the normal course is to go to a vote at a Special Town Meeting, where a 2/3 vote will be necessary to approve funding for the project. Article 29 is a clear attempt to circumvent that process, and to do so with a vote that would only require a bare majority, not the increased scrutiny that project approval necessitates.

Medfield benefits from a strong educational system which requires Dale replacement and modernization. Our Town deserves better than to have all this time and money wasted on what amounts to gamesmanship. Our kids deserve better too. With your support on May 17, our kids and our Town will be a step closer to getting the new elementary school they both deserve.

For more info, please follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/New-Elementary-School-at-Wheelock-Campus-101641995428232/

For Our Kids, For Our Town PAC
Mike Pastore, Chair – 6 Liberty Road
Nicole Drummond, Treasurer – 8 Onodaga Road

Co-Signed by:
Lucille and Mark Fisher – 3 Kenney Road
Erin and Brian Abbott – 30 West Street
Meghan and Brian Boudreau – 6 Pueblo Road
Jennifer and Brian Casey – 12 Onondaga Lane
Kayleigh and Alex Carrington – 30 Indian Hill Road
Elisabeth Colunio – 4 Loeffler Road
Lauren and Peter Cragan – 34 Planting Field Road
Sonia and Tom Cunningham – 5 Onondaga Lane
Rachel and Rob Daly - 17 Granite Street
Jessica and Brian Fenwick - 34 Minute Man Rd
Kim and Kevin Ferry - 6 Black Pine Road
Missey and Jerid Grandinetti – 17 Summer Street
Stephen Greene – 21 Lee Road
Jessica and Karl Kemp – 38 Oriole Road
Jenny and Daniel Kinne – 6 Carmen circle
Michelle and Loren Kirkby – 27 Planting Field Road
Ruth McGary – 74 Pine Street
Clair Meehan – 30 Cross Street
Katrina and Garrick Myers – 20 Maplewood Road
Tara and Joseph Oliveto – 4 Lee Road
Jessica Pastore – 6 Liberty Road
Katharine and Joseph Schipani - 4 Onondaga Lane
Jenny and Brian Shaw – 70 Flint Locke Road
Nicola and Tyler Tessier – 19 Quarry Road
Kristen Weber – 40 Planting Field Road
Christina and T.J. Wolfstitch – 18 Hatters Hill
Robert Worth – 44 South Street