Westfield Mayor Daniel Knapik, rear row second from left, leads a formal groundbreaking ceremony of a proposed $36 million elementary school with, rear left-right, Jack McCarthy, executive director, Massachusetts School Building Authority, Dr. Suzanne Scallion, superintendent of schools, and State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, joining students from Franklin Avenue and Abner Gibbs elementary schools with their plastic shovels. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Third grade students of Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue elementary schools were the special guests, although they did have to sing for their cookies and brownies, at the ground breaking ceremony held at the former Ashley Street School, where the city plans to construct a new elementary school.
State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, who attended Abner Gibbs Elementary School as a child, as did his father and grandfather, as well as his siblings, said that it was apropos that the third graders were present for the ground breaking ceremony because they will be present for the ribbon cutting ceremony and enter the building as the first class of fifth graders.
“This is one of the most exciting school projects I’ve been involved with during my tenure as a state representative and school committee member,” Knapik said. “All through this process, difficult decisions have been made and which will continue to be made for the benefit of these young students here today.”
The city is prepared to begin construction of the 96-ooo-square-foot, two-story, 600-student facility in partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The city elected to participate in the MSBA model school program to maximize state funding for the new school construction, which has a $36 million budget. The MSBA will reimburse the city for more than $23 million of that cost.
MSBA Executive Director Jack McCarthy said the purpose of the state program is to work with local communities to “solve problems” pertaining to school building construction and major maintenance projects.
“We partner with communities which come to us with a problem, then work in partnership to find a solution,” McCarthy said. “We’re happy to solve multiple problems with one solution.”
The proposed 600-student school will provide sufficient student learning space, enabling the city to close Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue, as well as terminating the lease with the state for the Juniper Park Elementary School. How those students are distributed through the district will be decided by the School Committee, whose members were all present Friday for the ceremony, when it adopts a new redistricting plan.
“I’m excited about this project,” McCarthy said to the gathering of approximately 75 adults, about half of which were city officials involved in the project and the other half city residents, “you’ll love it when it is done. I can’t wait to come back for the ribbon cutting.”
Many of the residents live in Ward 2, where the school is being constructed on the corner of Cross and Ashley streets. Several residents said they attended the ceremony because they have children or grandchildren at either the Abner Gibbs or Franklin Avenue schools who would attend the new school buildings.
There were also several residents protesting the project, one objecting to the fact that all of the trees along Cross Street and at the former Ashley Street school have been cut down, while another protested the grading done to the Cross Street Playground, which is the first home of the Westfield Little League, serving in that capacity for nearly 60 years.
A group of neighborhood residents filed a lawsuit early this summer charging that the city is in violation of state law for the using the Cross Street field for the school project. The residents charge specifically that the city is violating Article 97 of the Massachusetts General Laws which is designed to preserve park and recreation land.
That is one of two suits filed by residents now in the Superior Court system. The initial suit challenges the Zoning Board of Appeals process and decision in granting relief to the city from setback requirements, although that issue is moot because the city purchased additional land to comply with those requirements.
A Superior Court judge issued an emergency temporary order to halt further site work until a hearing, scheduled for next Wednesday, is conducted on the Article 97 case.
Karen Jaiclin of 13 State St., attended the ceremony with her four-year-old son, carrying a sign which read: “You Just Bulldozed Protected Park Land.”
Jaiclin said that she is not a party in the Article 97 suit, but supports the argument of residents who filed the complaint.
“I support the Article 97 suit,” she said. “I’ve been told that there is a court date next week to stop the illegal taking of protected land. The school is too big for this site.”
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said that city residents “must learn from the history of Westfield” that failing to prepare and plan for the future needs of residents leaves the city exposed to problems with massive costs.
“This is a new day in the City of Westfield, we must learn from our history of having been caught unprepared,” he said. “We can’t afford to be caught flat-footed. We can’t forego planning for our future needs.”
“We are not going to get caught flat-footed again for our children and grandchildren, so they can stand on equal education footings with children of the world,” he said. “This is an enormous project. The city has not built a new school in more than 20 years.”
School Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion said the school will provide a new generation of children with the academic, social and emotional skills to become good citizens and be successful in their lives.
“Our new school will create a childhood experience worth savoring,” Scallion said. “I want to thank you for putting our children first and make such a profound investment in the future of our community.”
