Controversy blooms in Swampscott faster than algae off Preston Beach, but the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn’s concerns about the town’s school construction plans sound like a problem that can be resolved.
Church attorney Carl Goodman fired off a letter to town officials last month warning against any potential eminent-domain taking of church property to provide a school exit road. The proposed exit is part of plans for a new district-wide school to be built on the Stanley School site.
The school project requires fall Town Meeting approval as well as approval by town voters. The proposed exit would be used during student dropoff and pickup times.
The Stanley School and Unitarian Universalist have been neighbors since 1981 surrounded by residential streets and forested land bordering the school and the church grounds.
In his letter, Goodman made it clear that relations between school and church have been less than cordial over the years, with traffic a source of contention.
“For many school parents, despite posted and advertised rules, what works for them is all that matters,” wrote Goodman.
Construction of a new school, in particular one with a district-wide focus, is a significant project that won’t be completed without surmounting obstacles. In addition to the Unitarian’s objections, the town also faces challenges to the school project from “Save Our Schools,” a residents group citing traffic and environmental concerns among its concerns about the school project.
Goodman’s harsh words about Stanley parents seem exaggerated — but not by much. Parental dropoffs and pickups with harried moms and dads ushering their kids into school or loading them into the car are a typical source of aggravation for people living or working next to schools.
Summertime should provide ample opportunities for town officials to meet with both Unitarian Universalist congregation members and town residents and hammer out a traffic plan for the proposed school which will put everyone on the same page as much as feasibly possible.
Conversation about eminent domain — but no concrete planning — has undoubtedly raised alarms with Unitarian Universalist members. But thorough conversation and planning, involving everyone with a stake in the new school’s construction, hopefully can avoid a taking and legal efforts by the church to block one.
People rarely get to pick their neighbors, but most people find ways to get along with them and, in many cases, forge friendships.
