[Ed note: My Southborough accepts signed letters to the editor submitted by Southborough residents. Letters may be emailed to mysouthborough@gmail.com.
The following letter is from a group of 20 Southborough residents.]
To the Editor:
The proposal for building a new Neary school is one of the most important financial decisions Southborough has ever had to make. The NBC proposes demolishing the current two grade school to build a new four-grade school for second through fourth grades. There are more fiscally responsible alternatives that won’t burden tax payers or risk pricing out residents, especially seniors.
The Neary Building Committee (NBC) proposed new school plan is the only option currently before the Massachusetts School Building Authority — and it’s the only one being presented at the Special Town Meeting on May 10. (The current estimate is $108,517.025 with an anticipated 30.45% state reimbursement.) The NBC has no backup plan, insisting the only choices are either building a new school or do nothing and restart the process.
In addition, ongoing concerns have been noted about the proximity of the proposed new school site to an old capped unlined landfill on Parkerville Rd. and the risks of disturbing this potentially contaminated area.
But there are viable alternatives. The decision to build a $108.5 million school at this time is not fiscally responsible, nor is it necessary. According to information and documents used by the NBC, Southborough currently has enough school space to accommodate all students without utilizing an outdated Neary or spending millions on a new school.
We propose Plan B that requires little, if any, renovation, no new construction, and sufficient space for all students, teachers, and staff. Let’s think creatively and make use of what we already have!
Brent Trottier Middle School, the largest school in Southborough is 130,000 square feet and is underutilized with just three grades. Even in the proposed new school configuration, Trottier would remain a three-grade school. The proposedfour gradeNeary replacement is 99,564 square feet – 30% smaller than the three grade Trottier. Why build a new, smaller four-grade school when Trottier could easily accommodate the same needs without the enormous price tag?
Here’s how Plan B could work seamlessly:
- Finn: Without Northborough’s PreK (which is returning to Northborough), Southborough’s PreK program is projected to serve 60 students. With fewer classrooms needed for Northborough, Finn could be repurposed for PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades.
- Woodward: As the smallest school, Woodward could comfortably serve 3rd and 4th grades.
- Trottier: As the largest school, Trottier could easily accommodate four grades – the upper school (grades 7 and 8) on the second level and the lower school (grades 5 and 6) on the first level, or a similar scenario.
With potential minimal adjustments, these schools can meet the needs of all students. Southborough has ample classroom space to accommodate projected enrollments; without using Neary and without building a new $108.5 million school.
If we move forward with the proposed new building, the town ends up with 99,564 square feet of extra school space — which will need to be heated, cooled, and maintained.
Southborough deserves a solution that is fiscally responsible while ensuring our children have the schools and resources needed to support our recognized high level of quality education. After all, it is not the buildings but the faculty, staff, community resources and support that make our education system exemplary. Let’s choose a path that maximizes our existing assets and provides a sustainable, affordable future for our town.
QUESTIONS? Email to SouthboroughConcerned@gmail.com
Patrica Burns Fiore
Gene and Nancy Karmelek
Erik Glaser
Bob and Renee Maiorana
Michael and Marilyn Sheff
Karen and Lew Capobianco
Sally Watters
Eileen Samberg
James Eastland
Nancy and Herb Kolk
Joanne Pearson
Peter LaPine
Beth El-Massih
Mike Farkas
Deborah Cantor
Allan Bezanson here, 66-year resident, adding support to Plan B.
When i graduated from Northboro High School grades 1-4 were housed in one school and 5-12 in another. It all seemed to work out.
Here’s a link to a New York Times article by Mark Medoff, “In Praise of Teachers.” I was, BTW, acquainted with Doctor-Doctor Robert Hively mentioned in the article. Here’s the link _
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/09/magazine/in-praise-of-teachers.html
I agree with this wholeheartedly. Trottier and Woodward are both underutilized. Let’s not build another sprawling castle that will cost big money and be underutilized.
Thanks for sharing this proposal—having more information is always helpful, and I appreciate the effort that went into putting it together.
Personally, I’m still unsure of what the best course of action is. Cost is clearly a major factor—likely the biggest one—and the potential tax impact is significant for many families in town. But cost isn’t the only consideration, and it’s hard to evaluate any option without access to the full set of data.
There are a lot of important metrics that go into a decision like this:
Student-teacher ratios; average class sizes; projected impacts to educational outcomes; cumulative hours or days of instruction lost to disruptions, or gained through improved efficiency; access to arts, languages, and physical education; cost per student going forward; maintenance costs/capital expenditures going forward
Some of this data is available on the Neary Building Committee site if you dig deep enough—but not all of it, and certainly not in a format that makes it easy to compare across different options.
If this information is available elsewhere, I’d genuinely appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction. It is certainly possible that I, and many others, have just missed it.
All decisions involve tradeoffs. But without clarity on what those tradeoffs are, its hard for me to form a well-supported opinion in either direction.
Your level-headed approach to the proposed new school is very much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your perspective. A lack of information is certainly part of the problem. It seems as though the idea of a new school was whipped up, packaged, and is now being sold to the community. But there isn’t enough information to make an informed decision on whether to support the proposed new school or not.
I would like to point out that on February 25th, the following was posted on MySouthborough:
“The May 13th ballot will ask voters to support the borrowing and proposition 2½ override to allow the Neary School Building project.2 Even if voters at the Special Town Meeting on May 10th reject the Article, a majority approval on the May 13th ballot would keep the project alive.
Cook, the current Select Board Chair and member of the Neary Building Committee has publicly stated that if the the Town doesn’t get the 2/3 approval needed at the meeting, they might pursue approval through a second Special Town Meeting in the fall. (And NBC Chair Jason Malinowski has said the Town can also pursue a second ballot question if that fails.)”
Tell me, does that sound like anyone on the NBC is listening to the Community?
–Diane Romm
We need to have a NO vote on both to get the point across. Please urge your friends and neighbors to be well informed on this issue and vote accordingly.
Plan B does not change any teacher/student ratios. We worked with the same numbers as provided by the NBC in their enrollment projections, relocation plan and schematic report, all found on nearybuilding.com. Staffing requirements from the “Integrated2023-2026SouthboroughUnitACBA” (Teachers Assoc.) say the ratios will adhere to the School Committee’s Class Size policy when feasible: Grades K, 1, 2 (16-20); Grades 3, 4, 5 (16-22); Grades 6, 7, 8 (18-22).
When estimating class size for a reconfiguration of grades, when needed, we chose to go with a maximum class of 18 (in the middle or low end of “when feasible” recommendations).
You are correct – there is a great deal of information available from NBC is you dig deep enough or are able to find it. (BTW, we all give them enormous credit for the time and effort each person on those committees have put into this. We just disagree with an acceptable solution.) Perhaps communications has not been their strong suit.
On the website, under documents, look for “NBC Preferred Schematic Report.” This is the 875 page document filed with MSBA. I will save you a bit of time and suggest you look at pages 33-about 50 (use the folio number on the page – it does not line up with the page in the pdf and is not linked from the TofC). This is where the original options are discussed and (most) discarded. These were all addition/renovation or new build options. None considered using the remaining three schools.
Also on the website see “Southborough-School-Administration-Space-Needs-Study-based-on-RLS-Demography-Report-December-2021-PDF (2)” which provides the enrollment projections and school breakdowns that we considered.
If you have further questions, please feel free to email southboroughconcerned@gmail.com.
I agree 100% with the Plan B proposal ! If you look at the facts it makes great sense and will save many homeowners hard earned income. My wife has been a resident for over 69 years and 42 years myself. Now being fully retired it is getting tougher to continue to reside in this great town. also relying on the State funding his a huge mistake. At the rate they are going now funding crazy projects and funding migrants as Jack Barron stated. Starting to look like I had stated before they are driving out middle class and upper middle class with ridiculous tax rates. Also the stated cost to do the new building of $108 million will undoubtedly be much higher in the end. Every project whether town or state always comes in much higher. I like Plan B and it should be an alternative!
At a couple of the info sharing meetings, the NBC or its representatives had no crisp answer to the question, what happens if the town doesn’t approve the Neary replacement OR the prop 2 1/2 override? There is no “drop dead” date after which Neary simply becomes unusable. If we keep using Neary, then, over time, it would need some improvements, such as roof repairs or replacement, and eventually the costs of such improvements will add up and trigger a requirement that the entire structure must be brought up to current codes. But, when that would actually happen is unknown.
“Plan B” is the realistic fall back approach that we should take when the Neary proposal fails. With a bit of preparation, Plan B is simple enough to be implemented during a summer vacation. It wouldn’t be “free”, but it also wouldn’t be a new building project that needs a contribution from the state. Minimal disruption to the classes and minimal impact to our taxes.
This town has a lot of projects that need funds, and we absolutely should not be spending money on a project that’s no longer needed.
Dianne you are absolutely correct about the board holding special town meetings to get their agendas past. It has occurred on numerous issues in the past. From the marijuana store on Route 9 and on the RECC. In both cases it was initially voted NO but later voted in special meeting . This has to stop occurring.In. both cases there was enough people to be considered a quorum.