To the editors:
In their Aug. 12 editorial, “In Swampscott, Much Ado About Nothing,” Item editors assert tax and NIMBY concerns by Swampscott residents, especially those living in close proximity to a proposed elementary school.
Describing the potentially affected area as “apparently bucolic,” the editors intimate that neighboring opponents share a limited, countrified view of how a municipality operates. However, they are simply responding as dwellers in a small, suburban neighborhood, wanting to retain not only its small, suburban flavor, but also its neighborhood school, whose site has been targeted for buildings that would house about 900 students.
Imagining the traffic jam that would encroach upon their neighborhood, the homeowners have a valid “not-in-my-backyard” argument.
Imagining their very young children and grandchildren being funneled through the halls of sprawling buildings, these parents and grandparents have a valid argument for preferring restoration of Swampscott’s still-extant neighborhood elementary schools. Imagine why, if plans are afoot to redevelop the Hadley School for recreational, cultural, business or other activity, renovation for it to remain a neighborhood school is not an option.
And, no imagination is necessary regarding the town’s plan to invoke eminent domain against another good neighbor, the Unitarian Universalist Church, which for 40 years has carefully tended its property and maintained a lovely and ecologically rich area of open space.
In a previous Item article that excused Superintendent of Schools Pam Angelakis’ show of authority and power as “enthusiasm,” it also implied that Ms. Angelakis alone provides “accurate” information regarding the proposed school.
Now, the editors juxtapose a thinly veiled smear against residents, who earnestly and honestly believe that the proposed school is a giant mistake, with a reiteration of the superintendent’s supposed “accuracy.”
Ms. Angelakis and the editors would do well to educate themselves about why Town Meeting voted down a similar 2014 proposal. It’s not just about money. It’s about neighborhoods and the children in them.
Deb Newman
Swampscott
