Poll: Build a New Middle School - Or Not?
Are you in favor of building a new Galvin Middle School in Wakefield, or are you against it? Why?
The debate is heating up in Wakefield over whether or not to build a new Galvin Middle School.
The project began with the approval of a feasibility study at last year's town meeting. The study looked at the options the town had to either improve upon the existing building or build a brand new school.
After the research had been completed, the Permanent Building Committee and the Galvin Middle School Building Advisory Committee settled on a $74.7 million design, with $35.7 million - or 53 percent - of the cost to be paid by the state through the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
Still, residents of Wakefield will be paying for the next middle school to the tune of $175 per household for the next 20 years.
Is the cost worth it to welcome a new middle school to Wakefield? Click here to see a full recap of all the Wakefield Patch articles about the proposed project over the last year.
In favor of the new school is a newly formed grassroots group called Galvanize Wakefield. Although there is no organized group working against the project, there have been several strong voices in the community who have spoken out against the project.
What do you think?
Sue Langlois
6:28 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Absolutely we need a new middle school!!! If the builders 54 years ago had planned better, had built better, had not cut corners, kids I love would have a healthy place to learn. Unfortunately, they rushed through & didn't plan ahead. If care & $$ had been spent back then, maybe our school WOULD have lasted 100 years. Don't make our kids and our future suffer for the mistakes made back then. Mrs Hull's generation sacrificed a LOT more than $175 a day. I am sure those brave men & women would agree the sacrifice was worth it for our future. Giving up a coffee a day for our future is also worth it.
Pmela Donahue-Schroder
9:37 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
I completely agree with Ms. Langlois. Also in the past I have heard some Wakefield citizens, who do not have children in the school system, state that they should not be financially responsible for the town's education. To them I say, if you do not care about the education and well-being of the children of Wakefield, I appeal to your sense of town pride. Do you REALLY want people driving through Wakefield seeing that monstrosity of a building right on Main Street near the center of town? My children will be out of the Galvin by the time it is finished, however, I maintain that a new building should be a priority for future generations. Consider the alternatives and ask yourself, is $175. really too much for a new Middle School? I think not.
Clare Zeimetz
10:12 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
I am in complete agreement with the need for a new school. People who don't want to be financially responsible for the town's education are missing just one of many larger issues. When my parents bought their first home in Wakefield - back in 1952 - one of the reasons they purchased in Wakefield was because of the school system. My husband and I both went through the Wakefield public school system, as did our now adult daughter. We would hope that future generations would want to purchase a home in our wonderful community for many reasons - but above all because we show our care and concern for our youth. GALVINIZE!!!
Rada Frohlichstein
4:33 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
We have purchased our First house in 2000 in Wakefield as well. I looked at the school system and their overall scores, I looked at the downtown (was not that exiting at that time) and decided that the Farmland was good reason to like downtown and for the lake and the proximity to major roads and Boston.
But the School System was my very first concern knowing than I would have to raise my kids here.
Future generations will be looking to purchase our houses when we are ready to go to Florida (hopefully) and will be paying more money for our homes which is a direct link to our bottom line. Can you imagine if we have built the school 10 years ago, we would have saved millions. Can you imagine if we do not build it now, how much more it will cost us all.
Clare Zeimetz
6:35 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
...not to mention property values are affected positively by community improvements, especially to the school system.
Greg Liakos
7:10 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012
Recent coverage of plans to build a new Galvin Middle School crystallizes the choices facing the taxpayers of Wakefield.
The question of whether to build a new middle school, much like the recent discussion of the town's broader capital plan, is fundamentally a debate between those who want to move this town forward and those who want it to stand still. It forces all of us to ask: What kind of community do we want to leave to our children and grandchildren? And are we willing to invest in that vision?
The "Wakefieldians Opposed to Excessive Spending" are understandably concerned about the additional taxes needed to pay for the Galvin. No one likes to see their taxes go up.
But consider the alternative if we don't invest in our schools: An impoverished education system.
Rising costs to repair older buildings. A less attractive community for new families. Stagnant home prices.
Look at some of the best public buildings of 20th-century Wakefield: the Americal Civic Center, the Greenwood School, the Town Hall.
They tell a story of a confident community - one willing to invest in its civic and educational infrastructure for future generations.
The investment in the Galvin is our generation's down payment on Wakefield's future.
Greg Liakos
8 Grafton Street
Wakefield, MA 01880
(Note: The writer is a candidate for the Board of Selectmen.)