Mansfield Residents Speak Up on Proposed School Building Project

The Mansfield Board of Education and Mansfield Town Council are discussing a number of options for renovating or constructing new schools in Town, and as part of the process, residents had the opportunity to voice their opinions at a public hearing Monday evening.

The council came to the hearing with a preliminary recommendation to renovate the and build two new elementary schools – each housing 375 students – at locations yet to be determined. And with some council members and residents favoring renovations over construction, the hearing held at Mansfield Middle School gave the community its chance to voice concerns.

“Those buildings are structurally sound,” Council Member Denise Keane said. “Personally I have a problem tearing down buildings that are structurally sound, and not just fixing what’s the matter.”

Keane went on to say that renovations will preserve all three elementary schools and are in line with Mansfield’s focus on sustainability.

“Mansfield is proud of the fact that we protect and maintain our resources,” Keane said. Fellow council members Meredith Lindsey and Christopher Paulhus joined Keane in support of renovations.

Locals' feedback ran the gamut.

Resident Ann Kouatly said the council should consider the construction of a single elementary school.

Kouatly, who has been involved in education for over 60 years, said she had seen all aspects of education and found that "bigger is often better."

"The needs of students would be much better served in one larger school," Kouatly said.

Resident Howard Raphaelson called the one-school option "workable."

Many in the auditorium endorsed the council's preliminary recommendation to construct two new elementary schools.

“At some point things really get to the point where fixing them no longer makes sense,” resident Margaret Rubega said.

“At this point, when you take a building that is made from single-layer cinderblock, and you heat it, you are pouring heat into the outdoors. There is no way to reinsulated that building to the standard that can be achieved with a new building. It’s just time,” she said.

Resident Randy Walikonis agreed.

“We’ve got old schools,” Walikonis said. “Every time the furnace kicks on, we’re heating the outdoors,” he said of the current schools.

School Board Chairman Mark LaPlaca told the council although he was “reluctant at first,” he believed that building two new elementary schools would be the best decision for the Town in the long run.

Some residents didn’t see it that way. Resident Richard Cowles said he was “appalled” by the proposal to build two new elementary schools, given that the Town's elementary schools are 55-years-old.

Cowles, who grew up in a 250-year-old farmhouse, said he finds it “insulting to [his] inteligence to be told that 50 years makes a bulding old.”

“Were these schools built that badly?,” he asked.

“I say we should cherish what we have and renovate these buildings so we can give our students the best public education possible,” Cowles said.

Following Monday's hearing, the council will debrief at a Special Town Council Meeting on Wednesday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building.

The council is expected to make a preliminary decision on the school building option and site(s) and refer its plans to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) for review before referendum.

• as presented at Monday's hearing.
• View the attached PDF files above for preliminary project details and budget forecasts.