After having read objections to the middle school project for the last five weeks straight from the same author, I felt compelled to share a response. I also feel I should state what seems obvious; the author’s home abuts the property and they don’t want things to change. This seems to be the central premise and any objection will do, and they apparently are intent on trying them all.
This is why they’ve argued that the traffic increase will be too much, and yet are equally against all traffic mitigation strategies. They’ve argued the more central location will inhibit students’ ability to walk/ride to school yet suggested Bliss Park as an alternative site, about a half mile north. That is along with basically every other green space in town, all of which would seem to propose similar or worse issues with walking and biking.
They’ve also cited unnamed safety concerns, and the idea that this project could somehow “change the character of the town.” The safety issues inherent to any car line seem the same even if it is a little longer. As someone who’s been dropping at least one child off for the last three years, I can’t say it’s ever felt unsafe and don’t see more students changing that. I have no idea how constructing a new school in place of an old one, in the same location, changes the character of anything.
What I do know is that the results of the community survey found that 87.5% rated the conditions of our middle schools as poor or unacceptable. I agree. Something needs to be done, and I think the SBC is doing the best they can with the options we have as there is no perfect solution for everyone.
The prior author has assured us in past letters that they’re very much in support of “improving the quality of education” in town. They also seem perfectly content with letting Williams Middle School fall further into disrepair leaving another generation of kids (half the student body) with unacceptable/poor facilities in their current condition.
I strongly disagree with this idea. All students in town ought to have a new, thoughtfully designed facility that meets modern standards. To try and derail this fantastic opportunity by focusing on the sort of issues that would arise at any site or nitpick imaginary scenarios is not productive, or in the best interests of our town or students.
Aaron Root
Longmeadow
