The Ayes Have It; Special Town Meeting Agrees to Education Projects

The signs around Hingham had carried a simple message for the future of education in the town. Two different proposed projects, two opportunities for residents to show their support and two votes that would be the major talking point at last night’s packed Special Town Meeting at the High School as the Town agreed to the request for investment in both.

The School Committee had asked Hingham to "Fix The Fields" and to say "Yes To Invest" and over 2,000 residents made the effort to attend the meeting in person to give their say on the issue. The proposed Middle School received 1,414 yes votes in favor of the school compared to 584 no votes but from the looks of people's opinions on Monday night, it wasn't a sure thing that the new Middle School would pass.

The redevelopment of the Middle School had seemed to split the town. Supporters and opponents of the project were out in force at the meeting with the gymnasium full and classrooms being allocated to handle the overflow from the auditorium. Crowded classrooms, along with structural integrity of the current Middle School, have been the subjects of much discussion in the town over the summer months and formed the basis of many of the arguments presented last night in an atmosphere that was emotional but always respectful. 

Thomas O’Donnell, Town Moderator, had asked for an “economy of words” when discussing the projects and the adoption of reduced time limits for speakers helped to move matters along. There were a number of people who were keen to have their six minutes in the spotlight and there was concern that there would not be enough time for residents to have their say.

Support for the Middle School project came from all sides of the gymnasium. Unsurprisingly, Raymond Estes took to the podium to deliver a speech that detailed the work that had been done and the hope that the Town would make the right decision and not vote for further design alternatives, a statement echoed by Jack Slater who declared that the “time for study has passed, the time for action is now.”

Members of the Advisory Committee also took to the floor to counter arguments put forward that accused the School Building Committee of rushing into the embrace of the Massachusetts School Building Authority. As expected, the cost of the project and the tax implications for residents was a huge concern to some but it was left to Dennis Freedman to bring the children into the equation when he commented that “I see a lot of discussion about the dollars, but what about the kids?”

As time passed, the discussions continued. Heavyweight support came from State Rep. Garrett Bradley, D-Hingham, who urged the Town to support Article 5 and from John Riley, Chairman of Selectmen, who “believes it is worth the sacrifice” to safeguard the educational standards of future generations.

Earlier in the evening the High School Fields Project had received a positive vote of 1,818 to 266, despite being subjected to various motions and a standing vote to split the funds being allocated to Phases 1 and 2. Again questions of affordability and whether Hingham needed a multi-purpose facility had been raised but the stream of parents who wanted their children to have access to decent athletic opportunities were a compelling argument to fix a situation that has been debated since the project was placed on hold in 2007. Since then the track, field and tennis courts have deteriorated beyond acceptable competition standards. To some, this was seen as a good indication of how the vote would go for the Middle School.

As the clock moved towards 11 p.m., it appeared that both sides were entrenched in their opposing viewpoints. With residents aware that this could go to another night, a motion to end the discussion was forwarded which resulted in the agreement to invest in the new school. 

But the evening didn’t end there. A request to reconsider was accepted by the Moderator and despite advising the opponents to take a standing vote, the decision was made to conduct a ballot vote. This took time to arrange and it wasn’t until 11.37 p.m. that O’Donnell was able to announce that the proposed Middle School Project had received a positive vote of 1,414 to 584.

As the supporters of the project celebrated, a visibly relieved Estes was pleased that residents had seen this as an “investment in our town.”

“I’m thrilled,” he said. “This has consumed my life for seven months and my faith in the town has been restored.”

Aware that there had been some people claiming that the agreements with the MSBA were rushed, he was quick to reassure taxpayers that the Committee had been through in making sure that the new school was the way forward.

“We have vetted this beyond belief so I feel terrific that we got the vote I hoped that we would get,” he said. “ I am deeply gratified by the town vote.”

Roger Boddie, Middle School Principal, was also pleased that the town had voted to invest in the two projects.

“It’s a message from the people of Hingham that they continue to support education.” he said. “It’s going to be a wonderful facility for future generations of students and parents. This is a huge commitment at a difficult time and I’m speechless.”

Dr. Dorothy Galo, Superintendent of Schools, was appreciative of what had been achieved at the meeting and of the hard choices that had been made by those who attended.

“Getting a two-thirds vote is not easy, it’s always a challenge and we were asking for that twice in the same meeting,” she said. “ It’s a win for the kids and the town. For the residents and taxpayers, it was a good decision.”

Last night was a victory for the School Committee, but attention now turns to the Special Town Election on Saturday when voters will be asked whether the Town should to be allowed to exempt from the provisions of Proposition two-and-one-half for the construction of the new Middle School and the repair of the High School Fields.  The polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and a list of polling location for the different precincts can be found HERE.