Wellesley Public Schools is asking the public for input on updated draft elementary school redistricting maps.
Following a public hearing on Feb. 11, the School Committee requested an additional variation of the maps for the Upham Elementary School district (Upham Map 3A).
The draft maps were developed by the Redistricting Advisory Committee and originally shared with the community in January. The maps have been undergoing changes based on community input since then.
No action on the maps is planned until the School Committee’s regular meeting on Feb., 25.
I agree with Mari, these maps are going in for SC approval two days after school break. What I find more ironic is the labeling of Hardy families as emotional for years but the response to these maps, which definitely created an uproar from other school communities, was labeled as good feedback,.
A community with an extremely diverse neighborhood, affordable homes (if that is even still a thing in Wellesley) and where a very low percentage of kids attend private school, should not be targeted for closure, These maps show Hardy families are displaced much more than any other district in town.
Hardy families should not have to bear the brunt of displacement for a consolidation plan. If SC wants to build a huge school at Hunnewell they need to utilize it. Remove families from Sprague and bring the utilization to 80%. Everyone in town needs to be affected by a consolidation plan and be told to live with it, if you are convinced this is the right plan. I’m not convinced, I will be voting YES on the referendum. on 3/17.
Why would anyone even consider closing Hardy? If memory serves, Wellesley bought land next to Hardy not too long ago so we would renovate it.
Is there a Swellesley link to that real estate purchase with our tax money?
If the superintendent of schools thinks closing Hardy is a good idea, then maybe Wellesley should fire him.
Lucille,
Given the demographic of the Hardy students we too have no idea why anyone would think closing Hardy would be acceptable. We did buy that land and it should be used toward a new school and to alleviate the 10-15 minutes of traffic Hardy creates, similar to all other schools,
Families have been traveling to Hardy for almost 20 years from north of Rt9 but our SC has done its best, in recent years, to label Rt9 as dangerous for this current redistricting. Many parents are more concerned about increased traffic on backroads not built for it and potentially a concern for students walking with no sidewalks, but this will most likely not be addressed,
Residents support the referendum because it will give us the ability to keep these schools in their locations with a potential minor redistricting. We need residents to push for a plan the majority of residents can get behind so we don’t have a failed debt exclusion. But back to your questions my guess is with the dedication I’ve seen in the Hardy families since 2015 a debt exclusion will not pass unless Hardy is part of the plan.
PS LOVE the Gif!
I find it off-putting that these new maps dropped over a holiday weekend, with the comment period spanning the school break. This does not provide for any meaningful public comment period.
By the way, none of these awkward maps would be necessary if our Superintendent and School Committee weren’t pushing for a super-sized Hunnewell, a building twice the size of Roche Brothers!
Our town should build/renovate a right sized Hunnewell to serve its current district. This would avoid the contortions of unpopular redistricting. Equally importantly, a seven schools plan would stop the superintendent and school committee from pitting the Hardy and Upham neighborhoods against each other.