• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School news
  • Pre-schools in Wellesley
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Business news
  • Embracing diversity
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Fire & police scanner
  • Worship
  • POPS Senior Profiles
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Live gov’t meetings
  • Events
  • About us
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Please support neighborhood schools by voting Yes on Tuesday

December 5, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Dear Wellesley Residents,

I am writing in support of rebuilding two new schools for our youngest learners. As a strong supporter of neighborhood schools I was opposed to closing any of the HHU schools. It is extremely important to be united so we don’t lose two neighborhood schools. Please make voting on Tuesday for Hardy and Hunnewell a priority.

When my husband and I moved here in 2001 it was appalling to see the condition of these schools. I was convinced the town would do something soon. Twenty years later the rebuilding of these schools is far overdue. For many years we enjoyed lower taxes while we ignored our oldest school buildings. Kudos to the FMD for keeping them running after inheriting them back in 2012. Why were these buildings not a priority for our town back in 2000 or earlier?

As a supporter of neighborhood schools, schools that foster tight knit relationships with their communities, closing two schools is not the right move. School enrollment decline never happens evenly. If both schools do not pass we will end up busing students all over town (no school will be unaffected) to even out the enrollment. But honestly, who are we kidding, the majority of parents will drive their kids to school, we do now. So, in addition to added busing costs, we will have added traffic. We also need to take into consideration that now, more than ever, kids need consistency not yearly redistricting. These schools are for the children, not the parents or the school administration.

In closing, two of our largest special education programs will be housed in these new buildings. This is partly the reason the new schools are designed the way they are. Five schools will not have the space to accommodate these programs. We will be forced to continue operating one of the old schools in its current condition. Reducing our schools from 7 to 5 is not as easy as less kids = less schools. Over the years some of us had children at overcrowded schools, we know enrollment ebbs and flows. We need to be making decisions on schools that will last us 50 years or maybe even 100 if you acknowledge Hardy’s lifespan. Wrong decisions now will cost us down the road; that is a lesson we all should have learned by now.

Please vote in favor of these two new elementary schools on 12/7/21.

Thank you,

Lisa Fico

TMM Precinct A

Former Hardy PTO co-president 2014-2015

image_print

Filed Under: Education, Letters to the Editor

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisements:

Linden Square, Wellesley
Wonderful Wellesley, Lockheart
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs, Wellesley
Volvo
Prepped and Polished Boston Tutoring and Test Prep
Cheesy Street Grill
Admit Fit, Wellesley
Mature Caregivers
charles river chamber
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Most Read Posts

  • Sign up now for summer camp in Wellesley (and beyond)
  • Friday is letters-to-the-editor day on The Swellesley Report
  • UU Wellesley Hills to install & celebrate new minister
  • Wellesley Public Schools news: Last day is official; Advisory won't investigate; Evolutions showcase
  • Taylor Swift Makes a Triumphant Return to Gillette Stadium

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Upcoming Events

May 30
7:00 pm - 8:15 pm

Memorial Day observances in Wellesley

Jun 3
9:00 am - 10:00 am

Hemlock Gorge & Echo Bridge guided walk

Jun 3
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Free event: Big Joe the Storyteller in Linden Square

Jun 3
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Free event: Big Joe the Storyteller in Wellesley Square

Jun 4
8:00 am - 1:00 pm

Schofield 5k, Fun Run and Fun Fair

View Calendar

Recent Comments

  • Bob Brown on New Wellesley Square high rise is for the birds
  • Mauyra on New Wellesley Square high rise is for the birds
  • Ellen on Wellesley Rec to make pickleball rec to schools, NRC
  • Agility on Wellesley’s Cliff Estates gets its turn with proposed condo development
  • Ken O'Connor on Wellesley Dumps Standards-Based Grading

Links we like

  • Danny's Place
  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group
Deland, Gibson, Wellesley
  • support swellesley
  • swellesley reach ad
Rick Cram, leader

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login