Forum on school building project: Parents object to Option D’s moving 4th grade to Westerly Middle | Daily-news-alerts

WESTERLY — Parents with children who attend the town’s public schools, teachers and other residents questioned, during a forum on Saturday, whether school redesign projects currently under consideration would gain enough support to be approved in a townwide vote.

The forum, hosted by the School Committee’s Building Subcommittee at Westerly Middle School, was intended to provide residents with the most up-to-date information on development of the project options and to give residents an opportunity to provide their opinions or concerns.

Many of the comments focused on Option D, which is estimated to cost $37 million and calls for closing State Street Elementary School, renovating Dunn’s Corners and Springbrook elementary schools for use as K-3 facilities, moving Grade 4 to Westerly Middle School and moving Grade 8 from the middle school to Babcock Hall at Westerly High School. Many parents said moving Grade 4 to the middle school was a non-starter.

During a previous meeting, Option D appeared to have the most support of subcommittee members after they learned that Option E, which would move Grades 7 and 8 to Babcock Hall would exceed the $50 million borrowing cap imposed by the Town Council and that site constraints at Dunn’s Corners and Springbrook elementary schools would likely make the additions called for in Option C unfeasible.

Subcommittee members have been hesitant to support Option B, which calls for building a new State Street Elementary School, because they have said it would leave little funding for the district’s other schools. Option B has also raised concerns from some who have questioned whether the Town Council would support any project that calls for a new building. The subcommittee had previously decided by consensus that Option A was inadvisable because it calls only for capital projects but no work to improve the buildings to align them with current and projected teaching techniques.

The concerns raised Saturday about Option D added to similar concerns raised about the option during previous forums and meetings.

“I cannot see being satisfied with seeing a child who is going into fourth grade with a seventh grader,” said Ashley Meyers, a parent who has volunteered and worked as a substitute teacher in district schools.

Similarly, other parents said they would be extremely hesitant to support a plan that calls for fourth grade students to attend Westerly Middle School, where problems with fighting, bullying and racial taunting have been reported during the current year.

Giuseppe Gencarelli, a member of both the School Committee and the Building Subcommittee, said he was reconsidering his previous support of Option D.

“The more I’m listening to families and parents, I don’t want to put a third plan forward to make it fail. I don’t know if we need to look another option. I don’t feel comfortable putting something forward if the majority are not behind it,” Gencarelli said.

Voters rejected proposed building plans in 2016 and 2019. The current redesign effort, like the ones in 2016 and 2019, is rooted in the town’s Vision 2020 effort that resulted in building the current Westerly Middle School and extensive renovations to Westerly High School. As originally envisioned under Vision 2020, the current effort was intended to address the town’s elementary schools.

Christopher Lawlor, a resident who serves on the Planning Board, questioned the wisdom of rolling $4.1 million for artificial turf at Westerly High School’s Augeri and quad fields into the building plan budget. He noted that residents had previously rejected a proposed bond to pay for artificial turf on the two fields. Some voters, especially senior citizens, might reject the entire plan if it includes funding for the fields, he said.

“I don’t think you want to put yourself in that position of giving the public an opportunity to vote it down for something I don’t think belongs,” Lawlor said.

Some parents also questioned whether parents would support any plan that calls for complete elimination of State Street School, noting its central location and that it is one of the district’s best performing schools. Others asked whether the Town Council might reconsider the $50 million spending cap in light of inflation and its effect on the construction and materials industries.

Christopher Duhamel, a member of the Town Council and the Building Subcommittee, said the council arrived at the $50 million figure based on a belief that it might be palatable to voters after they rejected a $71.4 million project in 2019.

Diane Chiaradio Bowdy, School Committee chairwoman, said the committee was unlikely to request more than the $50 million limit previously established by the council.

“The bottom line is we need to get together on something that is going to work. There will never be a perfect solution that is going to take care of everybody’s individual wants,” Chiaradio Bowdy said.

Marcy Bunte suggested looking for ways to better advertise the subcommittee’s work, meetings and forums to help increase input from parents.

Another forum will take place on Wednesday as part of a joint meeting of the Building Subcommittee and the School Committee. It is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Westerly Middle School.

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