Next step is a townwide Special Election Dec. 8
Published November 25, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The elementary schools’ expansion project is headed to the ballot box.
A Special Town Meeting overwhelmingly voted on Saturday, Nov. 21 to take the first step in approving the $17 million elementary schools’ expansion project after the only article on the warrant passed by a 386-17 vote. The discussion about the project lasted less than an hour.
Voters will now be asked to approve the project a second time during a Special Town Election on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. at Lynnfield High School’s gym. Residents will be able to vote by mail as well as in-person.
While the Special Town Meeting was scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., there was a 30-minute delay because a line of cars were backed up at the high school’s entrance all the way down Essex Street. A number of attendees were forced to park on surrounding streets because the student and faculty parking lots were full.
Similar to the spring and fall sessions of Town Meeting, attendees at the special session wore masks and were spread out across Pioneer Stadium. A large number of parents brought their children with them. Some children sat with their parents while others played soccer and other games at the end of the field.
School Committee member Tim Doyle, who serves on the School Building Committee, said the project will “address the urgent need to expand our elementary schools because of significant enrollment growth.”
“From 2015 to date, the enrollment at our elementary schools has grown by almost 100 students,” said Doyle. “It is anticipated we will be adding another 160 students by the 2026-2027 school year.”
Doyle recalled that the School Enrollment Capacity and Exploration Committee (SECEC) studied elementary school enrollment for two years in order to determine whether the spike was part of a bubble or was the town’s new reality. He said the committee evaluated local enrollment data as well as enrollment projections compiled by the New England School Development Council (NESDEC).
The town also hired Tappé Architects in order to study the capacity of both buildings. Doyle said the study determined both schools were “running at maximum capacity without additional space available to address new growth.”
“Each school was designed to accommodate 400 students,” said Doyle. “There are 42 elementary classrooms across this community. Administrators, teachers and staff are using every available space in their buildings to facilitate teaching and learning, including turning planning rooms, administrative offices and public use areas into instructional spaces. It is obvious our schools are bursting at the seams. Our schools are simply too small to accommodate additional growth. The solution is to put an addition onto each elementary school.”
Doyle said the SBC is “extremely confident in the proposal being put forward.”
“It is appropriate, it is efficient, it is fiscally responsible and, most importantly, it solves the problem,” said Doyle. “This project will preserve the educational quality our educators have painstakingly built. Our request is not a want. It is a need.”
If voters reject the expansion project, Doyle said the impact on both elementary schools will be “significant.”
“Art and music classrooms would be eliminated,” said Doyle. “Non-instructional areas in each building will continue to be repurposed and turned into learning spaces. And most devastating, class sizes will have to increase. In regards to class size, the facts are clear. Small class sizes result in teaching and learning. Larger class sizes result in crowd control. With the lack of an appropriate foundation for our youngest learners, their educational achievement moving forward will suffer.”
Doyle noted that the $17 million project would result in an average property tax increase of $205 per household.
“That is $17 per month and is 57 cents per day,” said Doyle. “It’s a modest investment that will provide our School Department and educators the ability to continue delivering nothing short of excellence in teaching and learning. It will keep our elementary schools among the best in the state.”
Selectmen Chairman Chris Barrett noted that the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Finance Committee and Planning Board unanimously voted to recommend the project.
“We ask for a yes vote because careful evaluation has been made of all options by citizens, educators and building professionals,” said Barrett. “This is their unanimous recommendation. This plan is absolutely needed. The students are coming, and we should be proud of that. The solution will never be less expensive than it is today.”
Durham Drive resident Ellen Crawford recalled that she appeared before Town Meeting over 20 years ago asking voters to approve a previous school building project. She urged the Special Town Meeting to approve this one.
“That project gave our school administrators, educators and School Committee the tools they needed to perform their jobs at an optimal level,” said Crawford. “The results are in: Lynnfield is one of the top-rated school districts in the commonwealth. That accomplishment is something we can all be proud of. The success of that project has brought us here today. I stand here as a proud grandmother with three generations living in town. This school building project is important to our community, and I urge you to vote yes.”
Munroe Street resident David Kulakowski aired a number of concerns about the project. He inquired why is the town not receiving any state reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). He also asked if the Senior Center could be repurposed into a new school, and if a new Senior Center could be built. He was also upset the project included new fields and a new playground for Summer Street School.
“This isn’t a crisis,” said Kulakowski. “This is a capacity problem. As a senior citizen, I have a limited income. We have a pandemic going on and we have people who are unemployed, and you are asking for a major tax increase. I think we are buying a Cadillac when we should be buying a Chevy.”
Town Administrator Rob Dolan said the enrollment boom doesn’t justify a new school, and said building a new Senior Center would be more expensive than the expansion project. He said the MSBA evaluated both elementary schools after local officials determined they were running at maximum capacity.
“The MSBA said our schools are incredibly well-maintained and we would not qualify for funding for overcrowding,” said Dolan.
Dolan said the fields at both elementary schools as well as Summer Street’s playground will need to be replaced as part of the project because they will be destroyed during construction.
“If we destroy something, we should fix it,” said Dolan.
Lynnfield Teachers’ Association President Lorie Kelly, 21 Maplewood Rd., said voting in favor of the project will ensure elementary school class sizes remain small.
“The elementary expansion project will provide small class sizes and dedicated spaces for physical education, art, music, community space and intervention areas,” said Kelly, who teaches fourth grade at Summer Street.
Yorkshire Drive resident Jack Adelson called the project a worthwhile investment.
“We have a great thing going here, but we need additional space to accommodate the growing demand,” said Adelson. “I contend that even if you are not inclined to support this project because of the increase in additional taxes, the increase in the value of our property over the years will far exceed the incremental taxes that we are going to pay over the term of the debt.”
Locksley Road resident Courtney Caggiano Nunley recalled that she attended Lynnfield Public Schools, which she said benefited her both professionally and personally. She said it’s important to keep class sizes small at both elementary schools because it will benefit students over the long haul.
“My daughter’s kindergarten class at Huckleberry Hill School last year was larger than my brother’s 1997 graduating class,” said Caggiano Nunley. “And despite that jump in population, the elementary schools haven’t changed that much. As a town, we disagree on a lot. But the fact we are here and the fact we chose Lynnfield leads me to believe we all agree that it takes a village to raise a child. I believe that the soil that village sits on is its school system. To me, a no vote is against the village.”
After Willard Lane resident Bridget Charville made a motion to call the question, the Special Town Meeting voted to send the elementary schools’ expansion project to the ballot box by a 386-17 vote.
School Committee Chairman Jamie Hayman wrote on his Facebook page that the community’s support of the expansion project was “overwhelming and so appreciated.”
“This is the first step,” Hayman stated. “Please remember to vote on Dec. 8 or mail you ballot ahead time.”
Together We Grow President Kate DePrizio echoed Hayman’s sentiment in an interview with the Villager after the Special Town Meeting concluded.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Lynnfield today for the resounding yes vote,” said DePrizio. “They are speaking so loudly for prioritizing their children and this community. I am proud that parents in this community see the value in our schools and understand this is a need. I appreciate that everyone took time out of their busy schedules during a pandemic to make this happen. We still have work to do because this is step one in the process.”
DePrizio encouraged opponents of the project to reach out to Together We Grow so that the advocacy group can answer their questions and concerns.
“For those who voted no, please reach out to us because we want them to vote yes,” said DePrizio.
