Opinion: More Thoughts On Tewksbury Election

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury voters head to the polls for the annual town election on April 6. In addition to a three-way race for selectmen, there are a series of ballot questions that will be decided. The following letters to the editor were submitted to Tewksbury Patch this week.

School, Athletic Field Projects Should Have Separate Ballot Questions

The Tewksbury Elementary School Building project will consolidate grades 2-4 (790 students) into a 140,000 sq. ft. campus. The campus will be built on the current Doucette field, next to the Ryan School (currently grades 5-6, 580 students). This will create a new elementary school complex (almost 1400 students) at the already congested, residential Pleasant St. location.

ALSO, an almost $10 million athletic field complex (with synthetic turf field, 1,500 seat bleachers, concession stand, 2-story field house) will be constructed behind the new school.

Why is this new ELEMENTARY school campus BEING COMBINED with a new athletic field (primarily being used for HIGH SCHOOL sports) ON THE SAME PROPERTY? This will change the character of the entire elementary school.

Why not build the athletic field at a different location? The new field could be built at the North St. location if: the 5 remaining elementary schools were minimally re-assigned to absorb the North St. school students; then demolish the 67 year old school.

Why are the same abutting neighborhoods ALSO being forced to accept the increased use of high school & all-level-of-sports all day, every day, with the new athletic field ? These neighborhoods will already be dealing with the traffic congestion/activity associated with the 1,400 student population.

Why is the athletic field not a SEPARATE ballot question for the April 6th vote, when the main purpose of this project is to build a new elementary school?

Please vote NO on the current single ballot question on April 6th!

Phyllis Giblin,

Tewksbury MA

Miller Has Always Been There For Tewksbury Residents

I met Jayne Miller years ago when all five of my children were attending Tewksbury Public Schools and part of the school system at the same time, and she was a member of the school committee. At that time I was a very active participant in school issues and what I thought were the important concerns addressing our schools at that time. She was always there as she continues to be today, to listen and offer out of the box solutions to complex problems that face our town.

With her extremely busy schedule, two of my children who belonged to an organization called Destination Imagination (a club/group that highly encourages collaboration, cooperation, out of the box thinking, the understanding that winning is not always the end goal but learning how we work together as a unit to solve complex issues for the future plus so much more) approached her and asked her to be one of the judges at their regional competition. Without hesitation she said yes with enthusiasm and encouragement to them.

Jayne Miller Wellman is one of the most dedicated citizens I believe I have ever seen in all of my years of living in Tewksbury and raising all five of my children within its schools. She is an advocate for the very best for our children in Tewksbury, she will drop what she is doing to help a citizen or family in need at the drop of a hat and belongs to and participates actively in so very many of the groups that represent Tewksbury’s concerns and wishes for an improved and united town.

I highly endorse Jayne for selectman for the upcoming election on April 6th and highly encourage you to place your vote with a woman who will give 150% at ALL times. Let’s get out the vote on April 6th and remember in this political climate, no matter who your choice is, your vote has literally never been more important.

Sincerely,

Kelly Satterfield

Tewksbury