Board of Ed candidates on proposed school sites

Forgot to post this story, by reporter Jackie Majerus, at the end of last week:
The majority of the candidates vying for a seat on the school board said they like the Greene-Hills School location for a new 900-student, K-8 school in Forestville, but are divided on a location for a West End school.
Five of the candidates said they support putting a new West End School at Park and Divinity streets, a plan which would require the city to use eminent domain to take many individual homes and several commercial business properties.
The candidates who said their top choice is the Park and Divinity site, which includes an old IGA grocery store, are Democrats Tom O'Brien, Karen Vibert and Jane Anastasio and Republicans Amy Coan and Wayne Sparks.
Candidates who said they support the Greene-Hills location are Republicans Peg Bonola, Chris Wilson and Sparks and Democrats Barbara Doyle, Sherry Turcotte, O'Brien and Vibert.
Wilson, Doyle and Bonola all also said they didn't want to see the second K-8 school on the former Roberts property.
Wilson said his first choice for the West End school is the downtown mall property, but that he would also support the Park and Divinity location.
In answering a series of questions for The Bristol Press, some school board candidates did not respond to the query about new school locations or only addressed questions about the West End.
A couple of the candidates who are opposed to the K-8 plan were also against selecting a school site in general.
"The sites are not acceptable," said Republican Dick Prindle. "They haven't got a real plan. They're jumping at straws."
If the concept is good and presented properly, Prindle said, "maybe people would like it."
Prindle said the city should hold a referendum on the K-8 plan and new school sites.
Mary Rydingsward, a candidate for the Working Families ticket, said she thinks the board should look at rehabilitating the existing school buildings.
There can be "operational efficiency gains," Rydingsward said, when existing schools are updated. She said she wants the board to be "fiscally prudent" and put the money into education.
Rydingsward questioned why Greene-Hills School should be torn down to simply build another school in the same spot.
"Greene-Hills already has a school," Rydingsward said.
Turcotte said she would like to see the West End school closer to one of the schools that would be closed, but did not name a specific location.
O'Brien said he prefers the Park and Divinity site but also thinks the old Scalia sand pit and former Roberts property are "excellent locations."
Republican Amy Coan said she agrees with concerns about the Scalia property, but doesn't want to consider the mall site because it should be used for economic development.
Her top choice is the Park and Divinity property, Coan said, which she said is "not desirable for business" and "needs to be cleaned up and improved."
Sparks said the Park and Divinity site is "viable and seems to be a positive use for that land."
Vibert said she needs to do more research on the West End sites, but said, "I like the idea of Park and Divinity," said Vibert. "I don't like the idea of displacing people out of their home."
Vibert said she wasn't overly concerned with the concept of having school fields on the other side of Route 72 from the school building.
"I don't believe they would be crossing the street except for ballgames," said Vibert. "I think that could be worked out."
Anastasio she prefers the Park and Divinity site for a new West End school. "It would be a great plus to the neighborhood."
Poor families sometimes don't have cars, Anastasio said. "If it's in the neighborhood, they can still walk to their school."
Wilson said he prefers the downtown mall site as the best location for the West End school since it has failed as a retail center, though he said he understands that it does not have community support.
While Wilson said all sites have pros and cons, he said his second choice is the Park and Divinity property, though he said he is reticent about using eminent domain to take private homes. He said he is not in favor of using the former Roberts property.
Bonola also said she doesn't want to use the former Roberts property.
"It's too far out," said Bonola. "That's supposed to be for recreation. They would have to replace that land and that creates another problem."
Bonola said she'd like to "look further" in the West End to find a suitable site.
Doyle also said a new West End school should not be built on Chippens Hill, where the former Roberts property is located. She said it belongs in the West End.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 6. School board members serve four year terms. This year, the four candidates with the last number of votes will not be elected, but all the others will.


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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com