School Comm. Talks to East School neighbors about use options
Published on March 14th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Neighbors of the East School and other interested citizens can voice their opinion on the fate of that building's future later this month, the School Committee announced last week.
A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m. to give the public an opportunity to raise their concerns regarding to whom the school department rents that building and under what conditions.
School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly advised the School Committee last Thursday that he has met with the SEEM Collaborative as well as a local private school, both of whom have expressed interest in renting the building for their educational programs.
Connelly stated that he expected to hear back from both potential renters within a month.
"I think we need to hear from the neighbors first," stated Committee Chairman Jeanne Craigie. "We need the residents to tell us what they want and we put it in the contract."
The School Committee is no stranger to the role of landlord. This year, the North School on Collincote Street has been rented to the SEEM Collaborative after a budgetary decision last year to move the existing preschool program to the new South School and generate income by renting out the North School building.
That move has proved successful thus far. Among the conditions included in the contract for the North School building are issues raised by residents of that neighborhood, such as restrictions on the number of hours of daily operation, the number of nightly meetings allowed, and the continued use of the playground by Stoneham children.
"...We have not received one complaint from the North School neighborhood about that school operation," Connelly told the School Committee last month.
The East School is located in a residential neighborhood on Beacon Street. The previous lessee of the building, the Visiting Nurses Association, recently moved out when their lease was not renewed. That organization leased the building for a number of years and, as it grew, the impact to the neighborhood proved too much for residents with respect to traffic and congestion.
Area residents have previously indicated that they do not want another business in their neighborhood, but a school would likely be acceptable.
The School Committee has indicated that leasing out the building could yield about $90,000-$100,000 in rental income for next year.
The East School public hearing will be followed by the continuation of public interviews of candidates for the Colonial Park School principal position.
While things remain quiet for now in the East, over at the South School traffic has become an issue that the School Committee is expected to address in an upcoming meeting.
The new South School has been designed with a U-shaped drop off area, but in reality, traffic is not flowing according to the design.
Congestion within the drop off area has reportedly prevented timely pick-up and drop-off of students by school buses. The buses have therefore begun dropping students off on Summer Street in order to prevent getting caught up on the school site.
School Committee member Mary Pecoraro stated that she has witnessed cars parking in the fire lane and on the playground.
"I think a lot of unsafe things are happening there," she said.
"The playground was not designed to be a parking lot," Connelly agreed. He added that while the drop off area works fairly well in the morning with parents dropping students off and leaving, the afternoon pick up is much more congested with parents parking their cars and staying longer.
No action was taken to remedy the situation last week due to a grievance received from personnel at the South School, which first must be addressed. Connelly stated that following that, he and South School principal Paula Sline expect to present a revised traffic flow plan that will be in the best interests of the school.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!