Wellesley Schools ballot item: Yes or No

March 2, 2020 by Deborah Brown 4 Comments

The League of Women Voters of Wellesley sponsored a School Referendum Forum on February 26th at the Wellesley Free Library. The event, which was live broadcasted by Wellesley Public Media, was attended by about 60 residents. The topic of discussion was a citizen-led non-binding referendum question that will ask residents to recommend either a six or seven elementary school model to the School Committee. The question will appear on the Town Election ballot on March 17th.

Wellesley League of Women Voters Forum — The “yes” side, from left: Jim Marett; Richard Howes; and Helen Hamel, members of the Friends of the HHU Ballot Question group.

The Forum, moderated by former Town Moderator and current Natick resident Peg Metzger, followed a debate-style format in which three residents represented the “yes” side, and three representative represented the “no” side.

The yes side advocates for keeping seven elementary schools open to retain the neighborhood school model as it currently stands.

The no side advocates for building two schools at three classrooms per grade, and for moving from seven schools to six due to declining enrollment.

Each side first made a 10-minute presentation to put forth their positions on the issue. They then answered questions, which each side saw in advance, put to them by the League of Women Voters Wellesley. Finally, they answered audience members’ questions to which the two sides did not have pre-Forum access.

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The ballot question:

“Do you believe the Town of Wellesley should keep our current seven neighborhood elementary school model by rebuilding and/or renovating the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools, instead of closing one school and redistricting all of our elementary students into six schools? Please vote YES or NO.

A YES vote would advise the Town of Wellesley to retain our current neighborhood school model by renovating and/or rebuilding the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools.

A NO vote would advise the Town of Wellesley to close either Hardy Elementary School or Upham Elementary School, without voter input on which school to close, and to redistrict all our town’s elementary students into six schools.”

The yes side was represented by Helen Hamel, Richard Howes, and Jim Marett, members of the Friends of the HHU Ballot Question volunteer group.

The no side was represented by Wellesley resident Jud Jaffe; and Wellesley School Committee members Melissa Martin and Matt Kelley; who also are volunteers.

The “no” side:

Kelley spoke first for the no side, saying that when the School Committee and stakeholders considered how to best manage the school buildings projects, fiscal responsibility and declining enrollment were two factors that drove the decision to move from seven schools to six. “The town has always expanded and contracted its school capacity based on enrollment. We had six very successful neighborhood schools as recently as 2002, before Sprague re-opened.”

Kelley noted that Bates, Fiske, and Schofield have all been renovated and expanded. “Getting to a minimum of 18 classrooms per school has been a 20-year effort in this town,” Kelley said.

Regarding declining enrollment, Wellesley kindergarten through grade 5 numbers were 2,480 in 2008 – 2009. For the 2019 – 2020 school year, Wellesley elementary schools are at 2,094 students. Enrollment projections indicate declines in the years ahead. For that reason, Kelley said, Wellesley should build two schools now — one at Hunnewell and one at either Hardy or Upham, subject to feasibility study recommendation — and a third school when enrollment exceeds 2,350 or is otherwise needed for educational reasons.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has invited Wellesley into its grant program for the Hardy/Upham project. So in effect, the elementary schools project is split into two projects. The first project is for a new Hunnewell School, which the town will fund on its own. The second project is for Hardy/Upham. The MSBA his will provide roughly 35% of the Hardy/Upham eligible costs, currently estimated at approximately $13 million.

Currently, an expected timeline would be a request for construction funding at Town Meeting in Spring 2021, followed by a a town-wide vote on whether to OK a debt exclusion for the school projects. If Town Meeting agrees to fund construction, and if voters agree to a debt exclusion, then it is estimated that the two new schools would be ready by September 2024.

Jud Jaffe said the plan “…would finally give the 700+ children in the HHU district the benefits of three-class per grade schools that all other Wellesley elementary students already benefit from. Voting no is voting for a plan that is fiscally responsible. Voting no is voting for a plan that recognizes that we can’t rebuild all our schools at once and that it’s natural to have staggered rebuilding schedules…We’re investing in buildings that we are gong to rely on for 50 to 100 years, well beyond the current enrollment cycle.”

The “yes” side:

When Helen Hamel from the yes side presented, she said, “We agree that the HHU schools are in disrepair. We disagree in significant ways with our counterparts and with the Superintendent’s educational plan. They believe you shouldn’t have an elementary school unless it has three classes per grade level. We find nothing wrong with three classrooms per grade level but we also believe that two sections work just fine, as do split classrooms.”

Hamel pointed out that student enrollment experiences peaks and valleys, and estimated that construction of denser housing in town due to 40B projects could lead to an uptick in enrollment. “The bottom line is, we believe it’s important to find solutions to save Wellesley’s seven neighborhood schools.”

Hamel also brought up redistricting and the challenges that Wellesley’s geography poses to such an effort. “Our streets curve, our boundaries are uneven, some neighborhoods are more densely populated than others. But our neighborhoods within them are vibrant and cohesive and it’s important to families in town to keep neighborhood children together in elementary school. Families would rather keep their children in their neighborhood school than move to a fancier brand-new one.”

She pointed out that at Hunnewell, enrollment is projected in 2024 to be at 289 students. “At three sections per grade, that is 16 children per classroom, which is below district guidelines for class size. That’s not an 18 section school, that’s a 15-section school.”

Richard Howes, speaking for the yes side, objected to the amenities proposed for Hunnewell, the size of the proposed 75k square-foot building, and the cost. “The closure plan has taxpayers footing a $12o million bill for two schools so that less than a third of Wellesley’s elementary students can learn math in a STEM room, meet in small groups in their neighborhood learning commons, and go to the learning stairs, whatever those are, while the vast majority of elementary students continue on without access to all those amenities.”

When each side finished its 10-minute presentation, Metzger gave each side two minutes to respond to three audience questions. Those questions had been submitted in advance, and the yes and no sides had seen the questions.

Forum question 1

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Wellesley schools: Hardy/Upham decision looms; redistricting in 2024

February 13, 2020 by Deborah Brown 5 Comments

The Wellesley School Committee meeting on Feb 11 at Town Hall covered updates on the Hardy, Hunnewell, Upham (HHU) project and a discussion on the schools redistricting, which is expected to take place in 2024 (see Wellesley Media’s recording of meeting below). There is still an ongoing feasibility study that will lead to a recommendation on building at either the Hardy or the Upham site. Based on the study results, the School Committee expects to make a recommendation to the School Building Committee by April 2 on whether a school should be built at either Hardy or Upham.

The School Committee supports a scenario in the HHU project in which two schools would be rebuilt (Hunnewell and either Hardy or Upham). The School Committee would retain ownership of the third school. The building would be put to use to educate students if enrollment, which is currently trending downwards, trends back upward to 2,350 students.

Superintendent David Lussier described cost savings of going to a six-school model. He put forth an estimated projected cost savings for FY2020 of $410,831 due to staffing reductions. Closing a school would mean that the salaries for a principal, secretary, librarian, and several other positions would be eliminated, resulting in the savings, which were also broken down through FY2025.

Not all are sold

This scenario is not popular with some residents, who would like to see all seven schools remain open. A non-binding referendum has been placed on the ballot for the March 17th annual Town election. The referendum was put together by a volunteer team which collected signatures of at least 10% of Wellesley’s registered voters.

The referendum reads:

Do you believe the Town of Wellesley should keep our current seven neighborhood elementary school model by rebuilding and/or renovating the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools, instead of closing one school and redistricting all of our elementary students into six schools? Please vote YES or NO.

A YES vote would advise the Town of Wellesley to retain our current neighborhood school model by renovating and/or rebuilding the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools.

A NO vote would advise the Town of Wellesley to close either Hardy Elementary School or Upham Elementary School, without voter input on which school to close, and to re-district all our town’s elementary school students into six schools.

Regarding the referendum question, School Committee member Sharon Gray said, “The School Committee has a position statement that has guided our work on the HHU project for building two schools at a 3-sections per grade level, and a third school when enrollment is at or trending above 2,350 students.”

The School Committee’s position statement leads with, “Foremost, the School Committee will advocate for facilities that will best serve the elementary students of Wellesley by meeting their educational programming needs, and will work to provide those facilities in the most fiscally responsible manner.”

You can see the entire position statement here.

From there, the meeting went over to the issue of redistricting.

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Redistricting puzzle

Wellesley Public Schools last month asked for input on elementary school redistricting maps. The maps were developed by the Redistricting Advisory Committee and shared with the community in January. After input from residents at two community forums, a survey (which 600 residents responded to), and other communications, the committee refined and updated map options.

School Committee Chair Melissa Martin said, “We are looking to come to two maps — one that would reflect a Hardy build, and one that would reflect an Upham build.”

David Lussier noted, “Implementation of redistricting won’t take place until 2024. Planning must take place now due to the schools construction project.”

The community feedback that was reflected in the survey, the forums, and through emails to the School Committee and the School Building Committee brought up concerns of a school closure; of safety, particularly Route 9 crossings; walkability; and specific neighborhood assignments.

During Citizen Speak, Kelly Friendly said that Route 9 was a reality in town and that “50% of Wellesley’s middle school and high school kids cross Route 9.”

Amy Gottschalk read a petition, which she then presented to the School Committee. The approximately 400-word document was signed by 125 residents, most of whom live in the area south of Lowell Road between Sprague Road and Cliff Road and are currently districted to attend Upham School. The petitioners would, under the the Hardy map scenario, be redistricted to Sprague School. Gottaschalk read, “we recognize the need to redistribute residents to the various elementary schools in order to maintain a minimum building usage capacity when redistricting from seven to six schools. However, requiring students who prefer to walk or bike to school to cross a busy highway such as Route 9 with vehicles traveling at speeds of 50 mph is short sighted…we support the safety of our children and we support a map that keeps the current Upham district attending an elementary school north of Route 9.”

Other parents spoke up to voice their concerns about students having to cross Route 9 to get to school. Kate Sullivan said, “We specifically moved to our neighborhood because of the walkability and because we did not have to cross Route 9.”

Other parents said that redistricting would pull them away from their community and that such an action would have a negative effect on their ability to really get to know their neighbors. Another parent pointed out that Linden Street was also not a safe street.

The next School Committee meeting will be Tue., Feb 25, at Town Hall. The expectation is that the maps will be voted on at that meeting.

The School Committee acknowledged that none of the maps is perfect and the goal was to balance enrollment, walkability, and respect for natural neighborhood boundaries.

Speaking as a School Committee member, Jim Roberti noted that people want their children to stay in their neighborhoods: “We’re going to have a problem with the voters.”

The School Committee’s Gray asked for clarification from Roberti: “Are you suggesting we close Hunnewell? Is that what I’m hearing from you?”

“I would certainly look at it after seeing these maps,” said Roberti, who also serves on the Planning Board.

Supt. Lussier said, “If Hunnewell doesn’t exist, we’d be pushing through the worst chokepoints in town to go to other schools. Hunnewell may not be the ideal site. We have to have a school somewhere in this area to serve that geographic area. Without a school there, it would wreak havoc on the other districts.”

You can see the redistricting maps here.

More: Wellesley citizen petitions: Keeping Town Meeting lively, current, worldly

Down goes the Hunnewell school white oak tree

January 11, 2020 by Bob Brown 5 Comments

With its fate sealed at a Wellesley School Committee meeting earlier in the week, the estimated 200-plus-year-old white oak at Hunnewell Elementary School property was chopped down by the Department of Public Works on Saturday. The crew started the job at 7am and expected to be working past noon.

When I arrived a DPW worker in a cherry picker was carving up limbs on the 30-foot-high-ish tree. “We’ve already taken care of the hard part,” said one employee, keeping me behind the cones and tape.

A report commissioned by the Wellesley Natural Resources Commission recently deemed the oak a “high risk tree,” unsafe for its location. The tree’s future had already been in question as a result of plans to re-do the Hunnewell Elementary School itself, but now the tree’s part in that equation is no longer a factor.

While the tree has been used in the past as part of science lessons, perhaps it will now find its way into history classes. Hunnewell Principal Ellen Quirk wrote to the school community the day before the tree went down that “We are hoping that we will be able to save some large cross sections and limbs of the tree, so that they can be milled and crafted into several items that will memorialize and celebrate the life of this majestic tree. Many people have wonderful suggestions for the use of the wood and we will be sure to capture all of the ideas before making final decisions. [Art teacher] Peter Knapp attended the meeting this morning, and is considering some art projects for the students, too.”

Support Swellesley: I spent about an hour on Saturday morning running out to snap photos, then posting this here and on social media (then swung by Sunday for the “after” photos). If this sort of local journalism is valuable to you, please consider contributing to The Swellesley Report.

Hunnewell school white oak

hunnewell oak tree — Section of trunk that will be preserved for educational use and hopefully an artifact for the new school, according to the town.

Here are the “after” photos:

hunnewell white oak

The before picture:

Beloved Hunnewell School White Oak tree gets “high risk” safety grade

January 2, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Hunnewell Elementary School’s venerable 200+ year-old White Oak tree that stands sentry outside the front entrance of the 28 Cameron Street school in Wellesley Square has been deemed a “high risk tree” in a report commissioned by the Natural Resources Commission. The report is embedded at the bottom of this post.

Update 1/7/20: The School Committee has given the Department of Public Works the go-ahead to cut down the tree.

The dire news has led Principal Ellen Quirk to make the front entrance of the school off limits, which includes the entire courtyard area, so that students, faculty and staff, and visitors will not have to pass near the tree to enter the building. Quirk has alerted families on alternative ways to access the school.

Visitors to the school should enter through the original 1938 entrance. The door will be locked for security reasons, and a monitor will be there to assist visitors.

The over 30-foot tall tree serves many purposes from providing shade to teaching tool to wildlife home. With the report from arborists Carl and Dan Cathcart from Plant Healthcare Consultants, it seems likely that the deciduous landmark may not survive to celebrate its tricentennial. The full report will be available shortly, and we will update this post accordingly.

Risk/benefit analysis

NRC Director Brandon Schmitt said, “A high-risk tree implies that there are structural or other issues with the tree that make it more likely to fail, either in-part or completely, PLUS a clearly defined target — in this case the school building itself and the students, parents teachers and staff who occupy it. It’s really a measure of the probability of failure combined with the consequences of that failure.”

Schmitt noted that although White Oaks have an average life span of 300 years, their longevity depends on location and care.

For example, out in an open meadow subject to minimal people-pressures, a White Oak can thrive. The White Oak at Hunnewell however, has been subject to many people-pressures such as a limited root growth zone, and soil compaction from foot traffic as well as the 1995 construction of the school wing.

Town Landscape Planner Cricket Vlass said the Cathcarts performed an International Society of Arboriculture Level III Tree Risk Assessment, which includes a visual assessment and measurements from a Resistograph, a high-resolution needle drill resistance measurement device.

“They determine the tree to be at High Risk due to a 3’ vertical trunk crack on the west side, which has formed within the past six months, with several crack beginning to form on the east, slow compartmentalization of old pruning cuts, cavities in the limbs, included bark at branch unions, stress cracks in several major limbs and a lean toward the building without the supporting buttress roots. All of these factors, along with the school as a target, have led the assessors to deem the tree to be High Risk, ” Vlass said.

As part of the School Committee (SC) meeting on Tuesday, January 7, 6:30pm - 9pm in the Juliani Room at Town Hall, the SC will discuss the arborists’ report on the tree and the appropriate next steps.

Although the NRC was involved in commissioning the report, any decision on the tree’s fate will ultimately be up to the SC because the tree is located on school property and is not considered a public shade tree. Neither the NRC, the Park and Tree Division, nor the Planning Board are decision-making agencies regarding the potential removal of trees on school property.

The potential destruction of the Hunnewell White Oak has been a hot-button topic since 2018. At that time during a joint meeting at Town Hall of the School Building Committee and the Board of Selectmen, stakeholders including concerned Hunnewell School neighbors and parents voiced their opposition to a Hunnewell School construction project that would lead to the destruction of the tree.

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Tensions rise over Wellesley elementary schools’ future

December 18, 2019 by Deborah Brown 8 Comments

If you left or tuned out of this past Monday’s epically long Board of Selectmen’s (BoS) meeting early, then you missed an informative and often tense discussion over the town’s elementary school plans.

The penultimate agenda item focused on whether the BoS would support a Citizens Petition for a non-binding referendum about keeping Wellesley a 7-elementary-school town rather than eliminating one under the Hardy-Hunnewell-Upham plan that’s been taking shape for years. Backers of the petition are looking to get the referendum on the March ballot.

The petition text was proposed as follows: “Do you believe the Town of Wellesley should keep our current seven neighborhood elementary school model by rebuilding and/or renovating the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools, instead of closing one school and redistricting all of our elementary students into six schools? Please vote YES or NO.”

The BoS voted 4-1 against the petition as worded, which means that as things stand, this question will not appear at the polls on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

However, should the request receive signatures from 10% of Wellesley’s registered voters (approximately 1,800 signatures) by Feb. 4, 2020, the ballot question must by law be permitted to appear.

Pointed words

During Citizen’s Speak, Wellesley resident Mari Passananti, said that the plans for a new Hunnewell School represent an “extravagant, ludicrously priced plan” which “eliminates green space.”

“By 2021 I’m highly confident that every registered voter in this town will understand that a vote for the massive tax hike will also equal a vote to close the Hardy School, and that is what I think many people at Town Meeting didn’t totally grasp,” Passananti said. “That vote for a big Hunnewell was a vote to close Hardy…Don’t let a School Committee and a Superintendent with a Father Knows Best attitude push through a contentious proposal.”

BoS Secretary Jack Morgan in comments addressed to Passananti said, “You are casting aspersions on our Superintendent as well as our School Committee. We have talked about the decline in civil discourse here in Wellesley. You are disrespecting the School Committee, this Board, and the 80% of Town Meeting members who voted in a way that you didn’t want.”

After some more back-and-forth, Passananti said, “If you turn us down, we’ll get the signatures we need and the question will appear on the 2020 ballot. You have a chance to stand up for democracy. Please do so. The citizens deserve a vote.”

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Wellesley Special Town meeting votes ‘Yes’ on Hunnewell question

December 10, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Hunnewell Elementary School in Wellesley The Board of Selectmen (BOS) on Monday, Dec. 9 convened a Special Town Meeting (STM) at the Wellesley Middle School Auditorium. The 199 STM members in attendance voted on whether the Town should allocate $5 million for design development funds for the Hunnewell Elementary School construction project.

162 members voted Yes to allocate the design funds. 35 voted No. There were 2 abstentions. Therefore, the two-thirds vote needed for the article to pass was achieved, and the design process for a new Hunnewell School will go forward. (Wellesley Public Media recording of meeting embedded below.)

Town Meeting is made up of 240 elected voting members in eight precincts.

For the first time, electronic voting devices were used to tabulate votes. Town Meeting members took a test run with the devices by doing some practice voting ahead of time. One of the practice questions was whether the Patriots would be one of the two teams in the Super Bowl. That question passed by a yes majority, but not by as wide a margin as the Hunnewell Design Funds vote.

Superintendent David Lussier in a tweet said, “Thank you to Wellesley Town Meeting for your overwhelming vote of support tonight to move forward with the detailed design of a new Hunnewell School. One more important step in bringing much-needed, new elementary schools online in Wellesley.”

Wording of Article 2:

“To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, transfer from available funds, or borrow a sum of money, to be expended under the direction of the Permanent Building Committee, for architectural and engineering designs, plans, and other specifications, bid documents, permitting, and any associated costs related to the reconstruction or replacement of the Hunnewell School located a t 28 Cameron Street, and for any other services in connection therewith and, for the purpose of meeting such appropriation, to authorize the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen, to borrow said sum in accordance with Chapter 44, Section 7(7) of the Massachusetts General Laws, or any other enabling authority and to issue bonds or note of the Town therefor, and that any premium received by the Town upon the sale of any bonds or notes approved by this vote, less any such premium applied to the payment of the costs of the issuance of such bonds or notes, may be applied to payment of costs approved by this vote in accordance with Chapter 44, Section 20, of the Massachusetts General Laws, thereby reducing the amount to be borrowed to pay such costs by a like amount; or to take any other action in relation thereto.”

Special Town Meeting to answer $5 million Hunnewell question

Special Town meeting to answer $5M Hunnewell school question

December 8, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Board of Selectmen (BOS) will convene a Special Town Meeting (STM) on Monday, Dec. 9 at the Wellesley Middle School Auditorium, 50 Kingsbury St., at 7pm. The major topic: to discuss the Hunnewell School building project. The warrant was posted on Nov. 6 at Town Hall.

Town meeting members will be asked to vote on whether to allocate $5 million for design development funds for the Hunnewell Elementary School construction project.

Hunnewell School, Wellesley — Hunnewell Elementary School

In June 2018, Town meeting members voted to OK $1 million for a Hunnewell feasibility study put together by Compass Project Management. The study examined the question of whether the 80-year-old school could be renovated. The study was completed in March 2019 and determined that a renovation was not feasible due to structural problems with the school. Specifically, the study found that the HVAC systems are beyond their life expectancy; code deficiencies exist throughout the facility; and an antiquated and inefficient control system can’t maintain temperature appropriately throughout the building.

Hunnewell Elementary School is a 36,000 square-foot, one-level, 15-classroom building that currently holds 260 students. If Town Meeting approves the design development funds, a plan will be put together by Compass for a new 75,000 square-foot, two-story, 19-classroom building that will educate 350 – 375 students, with a maximum capability of 400 -425 students.

Not everyone agrees that the design should go forward

A ballot question proposal for the 2020 annual Town election has been submitted to the BOS. The proposed text reads, “Do you believe the Town of Wellesley should keep our current seven neighborhood elementary school model by rebuilding and/or renovating the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools, instead of closing one school and redistricting all of our elementary students into six schools? Please vote YES or NO.”

Wellesley’s seven elementary schools are: Bates, Fiske, Hardy, Hunnewell, Schofield, Sprague, and Upham.

The following schools are not currently under discussion for closing or for major renovation: Bates, Fiske, Schofield, and Sprague.

If the BOS agrees that this question should be put to voters, it would appear at the polls on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.