• Natick Bulletin Endorsement, November 2, 2000

• Boston Globe Endorsement, November 1, 2000

• Natick Tab Endorsement, October 31, 2000

• Metrowest Daily News Endorsement, October 28, 2000

• Metrowest Daily News Endorsement, April 11, 2000

• Natick Bulletin Endorsement, April 6, 2000

Editorial

November 2, 2000

The Natick Bulletin did not support the Proposition 2 1/2 override for a new Wilson Middle School last year.

 Things have changed.

 We at the Bulletin believe that the Natick School Committee has presented thorough and credible evidence that the Wilson Middle School should be replaced by a $24 million facility. It is an opinion shared by a number of well-respected architects, developers, engineers, and builders who live in Natick and support the evidence that has been presented.

 Research shows that the building was not constructed as soundly as its sister school, Kennedy Middle School, built three years later and still going strong.

 Studies of the construction techniques and the existing Wilson structure have shown, through core samples of the roof, comparisons to current building and seismic code requirements and mechanical systems analyses, that it is not cost-effective to renovate or further maintain the existing building.

 Expert demographers — as well as the current elementary school enrollment figures — have provided proof that the middle school population will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, further taxing the limits of the faculty and facility.

 And a cursory review of newspaper articles over the past several years shows that the School Department has consistently made a case for replacing this building.

 The state has pledged to return 59 percent of Natick's investment in reimbursements for the total project of $25.6 million. That means the town will pay less than half of the cost of the new building.

 The town has an obligation to maintain the investment residents have made in education by replacing this facility with one befitting a town of Natick's caliber.

 If the structural argument isn't convincing, consider last week's Boston Globe op/ed piece by an executive of Hopkinton's EMC Corp., who wrote that science and math studies must be beefed up in order to keep pace in the world of high tech. Consider also the evidence that schools with solid libraries and media/technology support programs do better on the MCAS test. Improvements made possible by this override will address those two concerns in particular, as well as to give teachers adequate work areas, to allow guidance professionals the space they need to address student concerns, to alleviate traffic problems on access roads, to continue attracting top notch educators, and to allow Natick to regain its former leadership role in public education.

 The alternative, paying for a new school without an override, will eventually cost jobs and cut services that are vital to the quality of life here. Yet, the drastic approach is necessary to house the growing numbers of students despite its devastating affect on municipal budgets. Public education is mandated by state law.

 Detractors who claim alternatives have not been examined did not attend a summer's worth of Middle School Advisory meetings where every alternative site, building size and configuration were discussed. They could not present an unexamined alternative nor credibly or substantially refute subsequent reports that delved into further detail about the true condition of the existing building. There are simply people who refuse to acknowledge reality.

 Don't be misled.

 It's time to end the paralysis by analysis and get on with educating our future voters.

 We urge you to vote "yes" on Question 9 to replace the Wilson Middle School and to provide renovations for equitable educational opportunities at the Kennedy Middle School.

Editorial

November 1, 2000

'Yes' for better schools 

The issue ought to be an easy one for voters in NEWTON, an affluent city that can afford to undertake an $80 million renovation of its two high schools without a tax increase. Some residents have put the issue on the ballot, saying that taxpayers were not adequately consulted and the projects could be done less expensively. The issue was amply debated by the School Committee and the Board of Aldermen, and the cost is reasonable given that it involves extensive renovations of both Newton North and Newton South high schools and the expansion of South. When completed, the two schools would be ready to house 3,800 students with all the special classes, computer hookups, fire-protection equipment, and other features that are essential today.

The same concerns have caused school officials to press for a completely new high school for the combined LINCOLN-SUDBURY district, which, unlike land-poor Newton, has space for a new building. John Ritchie, the superintendent, estimates that enrollment will grow from a low of 960 students in 1996 to 1,800 by 2008 at the 45-year-old school.

The project would cost $70 million, a $300 yearly increase in tax bills for Sudbury, where most of the students live. The Town Meeting there approved it overwhelmingly last month - an example voters should follow. 

In NATICK, Superintendent Jerome Goldberg and the School Committee want to replace the Wilson Middle School - like Lincoln-Sudbury, a relic of the 1950s. Goldberg cites a special urgency because ''Wilson has been deemed unfit by two architectural firms.'' 

Townspeople rejected a Proposition 21/2 override by 177 votes last year, but a larger turnout is expected on Tuesday. Construction of the $24.6 million school would add an average of $75 to property tax bills, a good investment.

It's a closer call in NORTH READING, where some residents are trying to save the Batchelder School, built in 1917. The School Committee and Superintendent David Troughton want to replace this historic structure at a cost of $12 million. A $5 million police station is also proposed in the override question. The ''Batch,'' a sturdy Georgian-style building, has already undergone two additions and a makeshift expansion with modular classrooms. Its location on a hillside next to the high school playing field makes renovation and further expansion difficult. On balance, it would be better to start afresh on land owned by the School Department a mile away.

Cost of the new school would add at most $200 to a typical real estate tax bill. As for the Batchelder, it could be renovated into a new town hall or a school administration center. The building would retain the exterior charm that has made it a beloved fixture in town.

Editorial

October 31, 2000

Vote 'Yes' for a new Natick school

The same plan failed narrowly at the polls last November, and in April, selectmen blocked the question from reaching the voters, despite backing from Town Meeting. 

This time around, little has changed. The $26 million plan to build a new Wilson is the same. Because backers couldn't convince a majority of their neighbors the first time around, Natick's youngsters will have to put up with overcrowded schools for at least a year longer. 

Acting on a major criticism they endured last time around, members of the School Committee have been more tenacious in their advocacy of the plan, hosting and attending forums and debates on the topic seemingly every night of the week. They've answered every question, some of them over and over again. 

They have also been more straightforward with voters, presenting not one but two alternative plans. 

Last time around, school officials asked voters to trust that the experts had chosen the best plan from some 19 options. Such tactics led some critics to label School Committee members arrogant. 

But neither the $23 million renovation plan that would address many of Wilson's needs, nor an $8.6 million plan that employs modular classrooms, is reimbursable under the current state school building assistance regulations. 

The School Committee's proposal for a new Wilson, on the other hand, would garner a 59 percent rebate from the state, leaving Natick to pay around $10.1 million. 

That's a $75-a-year property tax hike for the owner of the average single-family home -- not a huge burden for most Natickites to shoulder, but enough to make many longtime residents wonder whether they can afford to continue living in a rapidly changing town. 

Once again, the battle has been drawn down familiar lines: Those with children in schools overwhelmingly support the override, while those without tend to oppose it. Presumably, many in the latter group are seniors, for whom the property tax hike might take a big bite out of fixed incomes already stretched thin by the region's rising cost of living. 

A recent poll by WBZ channel 4 of 500 Natick residents shows the override ballot question heading toward another cliffhanger Nov. 7. According to the results, 46 percent of Natick residents plan to vote "no," while 45 percent will vote "yes" and 9 percent remain undecided. 

This would lead one to believe that next week's vote could be a repeat of last year's, when the measure failed by just 177 votes. 

Then, the turnout was surprisingly high for a local election, with some 8,500 residents casting votes. This time, twice that many could show up at the polls. Remember, Question 9, the override, will be sharing the ballot with a few other items of broad appeal to voters. 

Driving all of this, of course, are the children of Natick. 

If the override fails again, school officials have vowed to go forward with the $8.6 million plan that would bring modular classrooms to Wilson and Kennedy, allowing the middle school students now housed at Bennett-Hemenway Elementary School to return to the buildings where they belong. 

Would this be a terrible outcome? No. But the schools in a town like Natick, that prides itself on offering quality education to its children and must remain competitive with the affluent communities that surround it, deserve better. 

A year ago, we editorialized that Natick's students deserved this override, that it was the best thing for the town, and that a smart vote for Natick's future was a "yes" vote. 

Despite a year of political maneuvering, despite the fact that neighborhoods and even households have split over this increasingly acrimonious debate, none of that has changed. 

Nor has our position: We again urge the approval of a $26 million Proposition 2 1/2 override to pay for a new Wilson Middle School. 

Editorial

October 28, 2000

Vote 'Yes' for a new Natick school

The same plan failed narrowly at the polls last November, and in April, selectmen blocked the question from reaching the voters, despite backing from Town Meeting. 

This time around, little has changed. The $26 million plan to build a new Wilson is the same. Because backers couldn't convince a majority of their neighbors the first time around, Natick's youngsters will have to put up with overcrowded schools for at least a year longer. 

Acting on a major criticism they endured last time around, members of the School Committee have been more tenacious in their advocacy of the plan, hosting and attending forums and debates on the topic seemingly every night of the week. They've answered every question, some of them over and over again. 

They have also been more straightforward with voters, presenting not one but two alternative plans. 

Last time around, school officials asked voters to trust that the experts had chosen the best plan from some 19 options. Such tactics led some critics to label School Committee members arrogant. 

But neither the $23 million renovation plan that would address many of Wilson's needs, nor an $8.6 million plan that employs modular classrooms, is reimbursable under the current state school building assistance regulations. 

The School Committee's proposal for a new Wilson, on the other hand, would garner a 59 percent rebate from the state, leaving Natick to pay around $10.1 million. 

That's a $75-a-year property tax hike for the owner of the average single-family home -- not a huge burden for most Natickites to shoulder, but enough to make many longtime residents wonder whether they can afford to continue living in a rapidly changing town. 

Once again, the battle has been drawn down familiar lines: Those with children in schools overwhelmingly support the override, while those without tend to oppose it. Presumably, many in the latter group are seniors, for whom the property tax hike might take a big bite out of fixed incomes already stretched thin by the region's rising cost of living. 

A recent poll by WBZ channel 4 of 500 Natick residents shows the override ballot question heading toward another cliffhanger Nov. 7. According to the results, 46 percent of Natick residents plan to vote "no," while 45 percent will vote "yes" and 9 percent remain undecided. 

This would lead one to believe that next week's vote could be a repeat of last year's, when the measure failed by just 177 votes. 

Then, the turnout was surprisingly high for a local election, with some 8,500 residents casting votes. This time, twice that many could show up at the polls. Remember, Question 9, the override, will be sharing the ballot with a few other items of broad appeal to voters. 

Driving all of this, of course, are the children of Natick. 

If the override fails again, school officials have vowed to go forward with the $8.6 million plan that would bring modular classrooms to Wilson and Kennedy, allowing the middle school students now housed at Bennett-Hemenway Elementary School to return to the buildings where they belong. 

Would this be a terrible outcome? No. But the schools in a town like Natick, that prides itself on offering quality education to its children and must remain competitive with the affluent communities that surround it, deserve better. 

A year ago, we editorialized that Natick's students deserved this override, that it was the best thing for the town, and that a smart vote for Natick's future was a "yes" vote. 

Despite a year of political maneuvering, despite the fact that neighborhoods and even households have split over this increasingly acrimonious debate, none of that has changed. 

Nor has our position: We again urge the approval of a $26 million Proposition 2 1/2 override to pay for a new Wilson Middle School. 

Editorial

April 11, 2000

Second chance for Natick

The plan to be considered by Town Meeting this week isn't much different, either. A $25,000 study has been completed since last November's referendum, and it reiterated the conclusions of earlier studies: Renovations, whether minor or major, and portable classrooms make no sense either financially or educationally. Natick can get the best bang for its bucks by building a new, 900-student middle school. 

The only thing that has changed is the price tag. The six-month delay has added $600,000 to the cost of the new school, a figure that rises by $50,000 with each passing month. 

Like many in Natick, we'd have liked to see something in the plan change before it was again put before the voters. But it makes little sense to embrace a wasteful and inadequate plan just because the best available option fell a few votes short of passage. Therefore, our advice to Town Meeting is the same as it was last fall: Put the question on the ballot and make your best case to a skeptical electorate. 

If the proposal isn't different, the campaign had better be, or this override will suffer the same fate as the last.  The champions of the school proposal will have to be more energetic and more candid. They'll need to be genuinely sympathetic to voters for whom even the extra $75 a year in average tax increases will pose a hardship. They'll need to be honest about the fact that the high school will need renovations next, and that taxes may have to go up again to pay for it. 

Mostly, the project's proponents will have to reach out to those who felt excluded last time around. The school committee is right on the facts, but it mishandled the politics last time and in the months since has done little to expand its support. This time, the task of winning popular support should be turned over to a new organization that can talk to -- and listen to -- Natickites in all situations, from all neighborhoods. 

A narrow victory, like a narrow defeat, isn't enough. A close win after a bitter fight will undermine support not just for the new school, but for other education needs as well. An effective, inclusive campaign in Framingham garnered 61 percent of the vote last week to pay for its school debt exclusion, enough to make it not just a win, but a mandate. 

Natick can do the same, if it can convince even the voters who rarely visit a school that school children aren't just another interest group; they are heart, soul and future of the entire community. 

Town Meeting can begin the process of bringing Natick together by coming together itself, in a strong show of support for putting the Wilson Middle School project back on the ballot.

Editorial

April 6, 2000

Support Article 15

Last fall, when the issue was first taken to voters, there was reason to be concerned about long-term financial questions that were unanswered. The Middle School Advisory Committee had produced, in months of meetings, a proposal for a beautiful, state-of-the-art 900-student school on the same site as the current facility. Unfortunately, the committee left itself wide open to critics who claimed that the proposal did not address the long term financial considerations of staffing and costs of building operation.  The present building was deemed "unsalvageable," but did not include the detail necessary to convince voters.

A study conducted in December and released in January told us all we need to know. A core sample was taken from the building's roof. The number of portable classrooms needed over the next decade (23 in all) was delineated. The Building Inspector weighed in with his assessment that the portable classrooms would trigger building code standards that the building can't meet without an extensive renovation. And, we learned, it will cost approximately $1 million a year to put off the new construction.

Town Meeting members who have not toured the Wilson facility will see video footage of the deteriorating conditions of the Wilson School. Never mind that the halls are crowded, that the students and staff are inconvenienced.  Forget for a moment that the current facility can't support technology necessary for Natick students to get a modern education.  Ignore for a moment the fact that the Town Administrator will seek a Home Rule Petition to exempt needy elderly residents from paying the related tax hike.

Watch closely for the footage of the corrosion on the boiler that can't be repaired or replaced. Try to guess if the roof will support the town's procrastination for another decade without failing. Imagine where Wilson's students will be housed if a major system fails and the building can't be used.

The Board of Selectmen tried to do the right thing by supporting the need for the school but referring it back to the School Committee for more study. Some said they owed it to the slim majority of voters to gain the larger picture of school needs over the next decade. But that can be achieved by voting in favor of the $100,000 high school renovation study.

Voting in favor of the $25 million override is the right thing to do, both educationally and economically.

Natick can't wait any longer to build a new Wilson Middle School. Town Meeting members owe it to taxpayers to make the economically sound decision.