Town Council Moves Closer to School Building Project Referendum

After more than two and a half hours of discussion Tuesday night, the Mansfield Town Council decided to wait and reevaluate their options for proposing a School Building Project plan to be voted on at a spring referendum.

The referendum, the final step in the approval process, must be passed in May in order for the town to file an application with the state before June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Beginning the project in the current fiscal year means levels of state funding and other variables will be known by the board.

The physical future of the town's middle school and three elementary schools have been discussed since 2005, when the Board of Education asked that a building committee be created "to review the capacity and condition of the town's four school buildings, with respect to current needs and future expansion," according to the board's May 24, 2010 recommendation report. 

In December, the council voted unanimously to reconvene the School Building Committee in order to reevaluate the two-school option, otherwise known as Option E. According to the committee, the total project construction cost for the revised two-school option is $55,976,399. This includes $450,000 for land purchase.

On Feb. 9, the School Building Committee voted unanimously to recommend reductions to the scope of Option E. The committee’s decision was then endorsed by the Mansfield Board of Education.

Below are summarized versions of Options A through E,  presented by the building committee nearly one year ago. The town council has been considering Option E since May 2010.

▪ Option A: Repair and maintain Annie E. Vinton, Dorothy C. Goodwin and Southeast Elementary Schools and Mansfield Middle School.

▪ Option B: Completely renovate Annie E. Vinton, Dorothy C. Goodwin and Southeast Elementary Schools with limited additions. Renovate Mansfield Middle School.

▪ Option C: Close one elementary school and completely renovate the remaining two with full additions. Renovate Mansfield Middle School.

▪ Option D: Close Annie E. Vinton, Dorothy C. Goodwin and Southeast Elementary Schools and construct one new elementary school. Renovate Mansfield Middle School.

▪ Option E: Close Annie E. Vinton, Dorothy C. Goodwin and Southeast Elementary Schools and construct two new elementary schools. Renovate Mansfield Middle School.

Council member Peter Kochenburger said that while he preferred to wait a couple of years until the community was in a better financial position, he favored the two-school option. 

Council member Denise Keane suggested that the town continue to maintain the schools and make any repairs necessary on a “cash basis.”

Council member Christopher Paulhus said that he was also in favor of the two-school option.

“It’s never a perfect time to be building something,” he said.

Paulhus added that the committee and council had done their work and that it was time to move forward. 

“I think the two schools sounds lovely, but I don’t think we can afford it,” said Deputy Mayor Toni Moran. 

Council member William Ryan agreed.

“I don’t think we can afford two new schools,” he said. “I think in the end it will hurt the town and it will hurt the education,” he added, citing the town’s potential need to cut operating budgets.

Mayor Elizabeth “Betsy” Paterson said she was “between a rock and a hard place.” Paterson noted that while Mansfield is known for its education, she felt that it would be “fiscally irresponsible” to support a two-school option at this time.

Council member Paul Shapiro said that he was a general proponent of the two-school option. He suggested sending the two-school option to referendum, but said that if it was voted down, that something needed to be done to enhance the schools' security. The committee has suggested that offices be located at the front entrance of each school in order to do that.

“There should be a referendum this spring,” he said. “We should bite the bullet, make a decision, and bring the voters in.”

The Town Council will meet to discuss the School Building Project again on Tuesday, March 1. The council is expected to agree on an option to bring to referendum at that time.