Swampscott plans pair of forums for proposed elementary school

SWAMPSCOTT – With just over two weeks to go until a proposed district-wide elementary school goes before Town Meeting, the School Building Committee is holding two public forums.?We wanted this to be as transparent as possible,” said committee vice chair Glenn Paster. “We wanted to give residents an opportunity to ask any last-minute questions.”With several forums held in the spring and summer, the latest are scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Stanley School, 10 Whitman Road, and the following Tuesday, Sept. 30, at Swampscott High School, 200 Essex St.?It?s so hard to disseminate all this information. We?re trying to have as many of these as possible,” Paster said.Under the proposal, which the Massachusetts School Building Authority gave final approval to in July, students in grades 1 through 4 would move into a district-wide building adjacent to the middle school on Forest Avenue. The Clarke School would be converted into an early childhood center for pre-K and kindergarten students.The total project, which includes constructing the district-wide school and demolishing the Stanley School to create athletic field space, will cost $52.6 million, according to Paster. The town would pay $35 million.If voters approve just building the new school, the project would cost $48.3 million, he said, and the town would pay approximately $31.5 million.Town voters will have to give their OK to whichever version of the project twice. At Town Meeting on Oct. 6, the building committee will ask residents to approve an article to allow town voters to consider a debt exclusion to pay for the project. If that article is successful, residents will vote on passing the debt exclusion at the town-wide November election.If the project survives both votes, construction on the new school is set to start in October 2015.?I hope school and field in total are approved,” Paster said. “These sports complexes are definitely needed.”There will be an open agenda for both upcoming forums, but he foresees the hot topics will be traffic and education.Paster said that the project will improve traffic flow around the school site, allowing for 50 cars in queue for picking up and dropping off students.?We?re not going to appease everyone, but we?re confident that traffic is going to be as mitigated as possible,” he said.In terms of education, Paster said there are some people in support of keeping neighborhood schools, but the district-wide school could offer features like state-of-the-art classrooms for less money than updating the current buildings.?Taxes are going to go up one way or another. If the town does not vote to approve this school, it?s going to be more expensive to repair these (existing) schools. It?s a boondoggle,” he said.Going into the forums, Paster said he is “hopeful and excited.”?We hope people come with an open mind,” he said. “But if people disagree, we hope they disagree politely.”