Some Goodwin Parents Support Building New Schools

The majority of Dorothy C. Goodwin Elementary School parents interviewed by Mansfield-Storrs Patch Thursday showed signs of support for building two new elementary schools in town.

Kristin Hempel, the parent of a second and fourth-grader at Goodwin, said it's "critical" that Mansfield look at "re-doing" its schools. “We need to build new schools,” she said, adding, “I think two schools is the way to go.”

Hempel said that while she supports the two-school option, the long, drawn-out process has left people "confused" and "frustrated."

"I think at this point there is a lack of faith in the leadership around putting together a proposal," Hempel said. "It’s tough, because it needs to happen and we need the leadership to make it happen,” she said.

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Trisha McNally, who has a first and fourth-grader at the school, said she too, was in favor of building new schools.

“I think it’s a good idea,” McNally said. “I think it’s going to get a little crowded though condensing three schools into two, but I think new, updated schools isn’t a bad idea,” she said.

Jeff Dudas, who has a young son at Goodwin, said he was also leaning toward the two-school option.

“The two-school project seems fine to us, but I don’t know how feasible that is” Dudas said. “I think in principle we’d be supportive of that, but we’d want to see the actual proposal,” he said.

Dudas said that while nothing in particular concerned him about the project as it stands, he was concerned when talks leaned toward one school, saying it would “eviscerate the neighborhood and the character of the schools.”

When asked about the council's decision-making process, Dudas said he'd "rather them get it right no matter how long it takes than rush through it."

Kristen Zodnik, the parent of a Goodwin kindergartner, said her mind simply hasn't been made up yet.

“I’m on the fence," Zodnik said. "Before my daughter started school, it didn’t matter to me one way or the other, but now that she’s in school, I’m starting to try to follow it, but because it’s been on and off and on and off, it’s hard,” she said. “Somebody just needs to step up and make a decision."