Submitted by Melissa Tynan, Greenwich
To the elected leaders of the Town of Greenwich:
What will it take for our elected leaders to cohesively support and sufficiently fund our public schools? I put forth this question as a concerned parent with two children in our public schools. My daughter is at North Street School as a lottery student, preschool student and my son is a third grader at Julian Curtiss School as zoned. Both will attend JC next year and my son will attend Central Middle School in a few years time.
The recent abrupt closure of CMS is a huge failure of this town on many levels. I urge town leadership to work together in support of current CMS students, staff, and families for whatever is needed during this transitional period. Additionally, I ask that CMS receives required funding to move forward for the replacement of its facility. This is a wake up call that nothing is more important at this moment—in this budget cycle—than making an investment NOW in the infrastructure of our schools, especially in Central Greenwich.
A fellow JC parent wrote an opinion piece published this past weekend with his final statements as, “The families in the CMS community and its satellite elementary schools deserve a brand new, first class school. That should be everybody’s goal.”
I also believe that it is within this town’s means to provide a first class school for CMS and, even further, that all of our children deserve a first class school.
For years, Greenwich residents urged town leadership to support our public schools. Five years have passed since the 15-year GPS Facilities Master Plan was published and not one shovel has hit the ground for our elementary schools.
As the first slated for renovations, the JC renovation project has continuously met with delays, opposition, and postponement. Last year, like JC, CMS was also dismissed and denied access to funding that would have pulled forward its project as deemed necessary due to the building’s quickened deterioration.
Make no mistake—the decisions to cut CMS and JC funding last year was a tremendous blow for the Central Greenwich community—to our families and our property values. CMS state of affairs calls for urgent attention as does JC’s need for renovation as an untouched 75 year old facility.
What makes a first class school facility? My response is a building and campus that serves the needs of the student population and facilitates modern education. I’m sure we can readily agree that all schools should receive upgrades concerning health and safety, air quality, and accessibility.
These are essential, and for JC, the addition of preschool and science classrooms are also critical in its pursuit to become a first class school for Central Greenwich. Upon reflection of the years of delays and pushback that the JC project has encountered, I’d like this opportunity to directly address enrollment and capacity, as well as the importance of preschool and science at JC.
Enrollment numbers in isolation should not stop this town from investing in JC. Critics scrutinize JC’s recent decline in enrollment; however, nowhere in the calculus of that argument is there consideration that: 1. JC’s enrollment numbers have been in-line with its counterparts across the district for 30 consecutive years; 2. JC enrollment expanded to accommodate students in years its sister schools were constructed/renovated; and 3. JC as a partial magnet school enrolls students from all but two of our district’s 11 elementary schools, maintains a waitlist every year, and turns away magnet applicants each year.
Further, if we speak of enrollment, then we also must do the same for building capacity. When JC was built 75 years ago, its design did not account for service providers and intervention specialists nor did it account for activities such as music with band/orchestra separately. With JC’s special education population coupled with Title 1 services, school classrooms and other spaces are being fully utilized to capacity.
In fact, many spaces have been repurposed. As an example, JC’s former music room was repurposed as the school’s cafeteria, which is woefully undersized. Now, because of the pandemic, the cafeteria has relocated to the gym and students now use the cafeteria as its gym. Moreover, enrollment numbers shouldn’t be discussed as a stand alone number, especially without the context of student needs that all but dictates how education and services are delivered within the building. If you still aren’t convinced, then take a tour during school hours and see firsthand how the building is utilized—gain a full understanding of enrollment, student need, and building capacity.
To counter another opposing view, there is no credible argument made for the exclusion of a science lab and preschool classrooms at JC, even at the cost of expansion.
Regarding preschool classrooms, JC is prime to serve a rapidly growing population of early childhood special education across the district while also benefiting our high needs zoned students. JC was originally slated to open its doors to preschool students next year; however, the demand for meeting federal and state mandated early education to our youngest special education students is so high that the district is looking to instead open the classroom sometime this spring.
At JC, we have many high needs students wherein providing a continuum of services from the early age of three would be a boon to student success. In fact, studies have shown that early interventions lead to less dependency or need for services in later years. Those early interventions would yield to longer term cost savings.
Additionally, given JC’s magnet status, non-zoned preschool students will have the opportunity to enroll for kindergarten. Moving to the topic of science, the large majority of our elementary schools have science labs and each school that has had a major capital project included one in their scope of work. Why can’t JC students be afforded that same opportunity? Also, take into consideration past and proposed town spend on things like sports and recreational facilities or parks in the tens of millions and Greenwich Avenue beautification and Old Greenwich streetscapes at half a million each.
Now, explain to central Greenwich families how is it conscionable to label preschool classrooms and science lab at a million dollars as “too much” and “pie in the ski.”
To the JC parent, such actions purport a subtext that reads “a science lab which provides student enrichment (or a right-sized cafeteria which accommodates student capacity or a connecting breezeway which boosts in-class time learning) is a ‘nice-to-have’ for the JC community—but for schools elsewhere, it’s a necessity and we will fund. Now then, let’s focus on ‘need-to-haves’ like recreation, sports, nicer sidewalks and streets, and town aesthetics.” What are the priorities? Where exactly are we placing value and investment?
As a Central Greenwich resident with young children, zoned with an untouched 75 year old elementary school and a middle school that is now condemned, I have deeply shaken confidence in the leadership of our town.
JC and CMS, as anchors in our Central Greenwich community, should be renewed and rebuilt. Our schools should be integral and a priority to the development of Central Greenwich, especially as we consider new housing development and plan a rebuild of Railroad Avenue and the waterfront. How can we entertain investing so much into Central Greenwich then forego or delay investment in our public schools? How can we build a “re-imagined” Central Greenwich without first class schools? As a public school parent, a tax paying resident, and a homeowner in District 1, I ask that ALL elected leadership come together to no longer delay and move forward with school capital projects for Central Greenwich, namely CMS and JC, and also our sister school Old Greenwich. Rebuild our schools and our confidence in town leadership. Choose to make first class schools a priority: it is in your hands.
Thank you for your service to our community. I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter and also your consideration.
Respectfully,
Melissa Tynan