Southwick School Expansion,
"VOTE NO!"

Proponants of the School Expansion Project
Please stop the misleading statements…
Stop using Our kids as pawns!

The following are actual teacher statements kids have brought home from school.

Stop telling our students they’re not going to get a diploma, but a GED instead, because we’re unaccredited.

Stop telling our students their courses won’t count and they’ll have to make up courses at an accredited school.

Stop telling our students they’ll be stuck at a lousy job the rest of their lives.

Stop sending girl scouts door to door pushing this project, and telling our kids to go home and tell their parents to vote yes on this oversized project.

Prior to the last vote our principals handed out “vote yes” fliers and allowed the Southwick Schools
group to hand them out in our schools. What’s next?

Stop teaching our kids such unethical practices. It’s a school after all!

Do you really think an administration that would use these type of tactics would tell you the whole truth about this project?

Remember the other things they told us?

1. If we vote this project down we’ll lose our funding: Actually there is no funding set aside for us or anyone else. The MSBA sells a bond to investors (after) we pass our funding than turns it into a grant for us. - See MSBA’s Building With Us (Funding the project) p. 1 - Welcome to Module 5 and MGL Chapter 70B (Bonds).

2. It’s a onetime offer: Actually it wasn’t a onetime offer. The MSBA’s mission is to do whatever it takes to get the job done no matter how many times it takes ( Carver MA 5 funding attempts)- See MSBA Guidelines (statutes) CMR 2.20 & MGL 70B 3 (w).

3. We’ll be sent to the end of the line for many years: Actually there is no line or bottom of the list – See MSBA’ “Building with Us” (Home Page) www.massschoolbuildings.org

4. We are one of the neediest schools in the state: Actually There are 306 schools out of 338 worse than us on the needs survey. Granville and we scored in the top 10%. – See MSBA’S Our Programs & Initiatives (Need’s Survey)-2010 needs survey-P-100.

5. We can’t change the plan: Actually we can change the plan – See MSBA Guidelines (Statutes & regulations) 2.07 (7) & 2.20.

6. We have accreditation issues and we’re on warning status: Actually we are fully accredited. Call the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) at (781) 541-5414. www.neasc.org. Our accreditation is good for the next ten years.

7. Woodland’s capacity is 400 students, Powder Mill’s 510, and the High School 470 by MSBA guidelines: Actually there are no capacity specifications for existing facilities like ours. That’s the minimum # of students allowed for any new construction of a school to receive funding. The MSBA had to limit the size of new construction because many were built too large for expected student populations. 150 schools total were shut down. Some were closed for lack of students, some of which were new or recently renovated. See MSBA Guidelines (Statutes) 2.08 (3).

8. We get $18 million for regionalizing with Granville: Actually it’s only $4.3 million - See MSBA Guidelines 2.18(g).

9.The renovations alone are $60 million: Actually it’s $38 Million: - See MSBA’s About Us (Board Meeting 9-28-11) schematic p. 5 option 3. (Multiply the size of each building x dollar per square feet then add them up).

10. We’re the only ones allowed to do all three projects at once in the state: Actually Westfield is doing 7 and Springfield 23. - See MSBA’s Our program & Initiatives (Green Repair Program) 169 Projects.


The selectmen announced on 4/2 “if we turn this proposal down again,
there will be major revisions to this project next time.”
The next time it comes before us we’ll get more than
the current 60% reimbursement.”

The new figures they are presenting are the result of shifting money that we were using to pay off the bonds for the Town Hall, Fire and Police Station renovations. They’re not saving us one dollar by making us pay the $275,000 of expired bonds for another 25 years on this project.

If we turn this down we will Save $20 million
on the addition and $75 million
over the next 50 years.

This plan will tear down 7 classrooms and then rebuild them along with 23 more for a total of 135 classrooms to ultimately serve 2700 students. We currently have 1900 students with this number expected to continually decline, over the next ten years.

Think about our future TAXES!

If we blow our money on this over the top expansion that could easily be cut back, How will we fund the things we do need; like giving teachers merit raises or the chief of police his fulltime dispatcher or funding environmental science programs such as solar panels and a small wind turbine installed and monitored by the students. New biology labs, equipment and other things like operating and maintaining Wally Park that would make this school and our town a great place to live.

Please… Vote No Again!

© 2012 School Truth