Elementary school tested in Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT – Almost exactly a month after a proposed new elementary school failed to pass Town Meeting by the required two-thirds majority, Swampscott will vote on the project again Tuesday, prompting lawn signs, volunteer groups and a reignited debate.”I’d like to see the town vote ?no’ on the new proposal, just like Town Meeting, and I’d like to see the same building committee or new building committee start working on a new proposal,” said resident Scott Burke.Meanwhile, those who support the proposed school see a second chance at approval.”This is a tremendous opportunity for Swampscott to leverage $17 million in state funds to build a modern, bright, up-to-code school,” Glenn Paster, a member of the School Building Committee, said. “Voting no is not a plan.”The Massachusetts School Building Authority in late July gave final approval to a proposal for a new district-wide elementary school in Swampscott. The plans include building a new school for grades 1-4, adjacent to the middle school. Clarke School would be converted to house pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.The proposed project also includes demolishing Stanley School and converting the land to athletic fields and playgrounds. This project would cost $52.6 million, of which the town would pay approximately $35 million.The proposal has to pass two votes: one at Town Meeting and a second on a town-wide ballot.Town Meeting voted 140-95 at a Special Town Meeting Oct. 6 in favor of plans for the four-level elementary school, falling short of the two-thirds threshold needed for it to be approved.The vote on the town-wide ballot is scheduled for Tuesday. If it passes, by a majority, the selectmen could present the vote to Town Meeting again on the proposal.Meanwhile, proponents and opponents of the project have organized.Representatives of both sides agreed the town needs a new elementary school to replace the Hadley School.But opponents said the new proposed school would not have enough recreational space for either the elementary students or the middle school students (who use that open land for fields), would be overcrowded when it opens, and would take the most obvious spot for a future new middle school.”Based on the last 20 years of enrollment, the proposed school is too small,” Jaren Landen, a former school committee member and opponent of the plan, said in an email. “It is certain to increase class size and be overcrowded when it opens, reduce recreation space for our entire (grade) 1-8 population, and limit our future options for the middle school which is already overcrowded.”Burke said some people also don’t like the idea of one elementary school versus neighborhood elementary schools.Other concerns mentioned included too much traffic congestion in the neighborhood and that the proposed school would not meet zoning requirements. Burke said that renovating an existing school and building a smaller new elementary school may be more expensive, but voters should have that, or other options.”The main focus for me is lack of long-range planning and impact on the middle school,” Burke said. “I think a more expensive school that is not a flawed project has a better chance of passing than a flawed project.”Proponents of the project argued that a single, district-wide elementary school provides the most value for taxpayers and the best education for all elementary students.”There is equity in that all (elementary school students) will go to school together, will have the best learning environment, and will have special education,” Paster said, noting that none of the current elementary school buildings complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.In response to criticism that the proposal was not well-thought-out, that there was not enough recreation space for students, and other concerns, Paster noted the proposal was developed as part of a multi-step, multi-year process with experts at the Massachusetts School Building Authority.”All this has been approved by the s