With all precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results
Question 1= NO – No=10566 (53%), Yes=9438 (47%)
Question 2=YES – No-9453 m(48%), Yes=10430 (52%)
Question 3=YES – No=9427 (47%), Yes=10462 (53%)
Here’s the link to the unofficial results by precinct.
Five precincts reporting now:
Question 1 – No =1614 Yes=1372
Question 2 – No=1462, Yes=1507
Question 3 – No=1476, Yes=1490
At least Question 1 looks like it’s going down. Sorry the mayor terrorized parents of school kids into being sheep. The rainy day fund has plenty to do this. Well, guess what – it’s raining.
Question 1 looks like it will fail, perhaps unsurprisingly given it was a hodgepodge of funding with no real driver to convince people to vote for it. 2 and 3 look very close, so a lot of accurate looking predictions in the other thread.
Nine precincts reporting now:
Question 1 – No =3031 Yes=2476 NO
Question 2 – No=2695, Yes=2784 YES
Question 3 – No=2729, Yes=2745 YES
Q2 and Q3 are close but are YES at the moment, but it looks like Q1 is heading towards a No
Thirteen precincts reporting now:
Question 1 – No =4457 Yes=3952 NO
Question 2 – No=3927, Yes=4426 YES
Question 3 – No=3984, Yes=4367 YES
Q2 has a bit more support than Q3 which make sense since Q2 is attached to additional state funding
With 23 of the 31 precincts reporting now:
Question 1 – No =7802, Yes=6707 NO
Question 2 – No=6932, Yes=7498 YES
Question 3 – No=6972, Yes=7458 YES
Schools win!
Always a lift to raise taxes during tough economic times. Glad it looks like the debt exclusions will pass.
My thanks to the people who dedicated so many hours to trying to get the override passed. It is a thankless job but it was a good campaign against some tough headwinds.
If there were legitimate facts to support an override, excluding the fear, mongering of “our schools and children will suffer” perhaps it would’ve had more merit. But over spending and mis- management, which was obvious defeated it.
Yes Jim, but not by much. The surprise so far is how close the votes on Questions 2 and 3 are trending. Question 1 seemed to be in trouble from the start, but I really thought there would be a decisive vote in the affirmative for much needed school construction. That obviously is not happening.
Still waiting on Ward 3, precincts 3 and 4. Will probably be the same as the rest of the city. Franklin is in Ward 3, and is in fact the polling place for 3/4.
3-3 had printer problems.
3-4, actually in Franklin’s gym, was unofficially 337-418, 361-389, 402-351.
Source: my eyes.
Just as I predicted Question 1 will go down. Voters want greater fiscal restraint and they clearly sent that message.
Questions 2 and 3 support two schools in rough condition. For many that was an easier vote.
I disagree. Override was only going to increase taxes by $200+.
It made no sense that the Mayor would not fully fund the continuation of our schools if override passed.
Instead, she continues to defund our schools, while using ARPA for “nice to have” luxuries. I think this was a referendum on trust.
Kim: I have absolutely no idea of the Beacon’s inner workings, etc., but I would guess that at this point they’re just not ready to handle readers’ comments. These days, it’s a job unto itself monitoring and moderating such forums, and they may not yet have devised their policies and procedures for doing so. Hope they’re able to at some point, though — done right, it could be a great medium for discussion.
Sorry for the apparent non-sequitur post — I intended to follow up on Kim’s comment below about the Beacon, and for some reason (probably my fault) it wound up here. I reposted in the appropriate thread.
All precincts have reported. Refresh page for complete result (at the top of the page)
Very surprising … Ward 8, who’s students attend mostly attend Countryside voted NO on Question 2 (the Countryside funding question).
That’s a bit hard to get my brain around.
Jerry – Countryside’s current zone actually spans all of Ward 8-3, and also pieces of 6-2 and 5-2, all of which voted Yes on #2. The rest of Ward 8 is Spaulding.
Ah, that makes much more sense. Thanks for the info
I am sad but glad at the same time. I didn’t support this override and glad it was defeated.
We all want what is best for our community. I personally believe the override failed due to a lack of trust in our elected officials. What happens to those who got behind the override will be interesting come November.
In the mean while I call for Fuller to step down and allow residents of Newton elect a new mayor who they can get behind and trust.
Here’s the Newton Beacon’s story on the results
Why doesn’t Beacon have reader comments?
Kim: I have absolutely no idea of the Beacon’s inner workings, etc., but I would guess that at this point they’re just not ready to handle readers’ comments. These days, it’s a job unto itself monitoring and moderating such forums, and they may not yet have devised their policies and procedures for doing so. Hope they’re able to at some point, though — done right, it could be a great medium for discussion.
Reasons for not having Comments:
– As Essteess said, you need technology, human resources, and constant monitoring to keep Comments un-obscene and at a minimal appropriateness level
– Some writers/journalists feel the Comments take over the article and the news the author was trying to convey gets lost
– Writers/journalists don’t want to be personally attacked in Comments
At the moment seems like Beacon, Fig City, and V14 have a decent symbiotic relationship of cross-postings, multiple perspectives, and using V14’s blog format as the right place for Comments.
Here’s Fig City News’s story
Interesting that the wards that vote at Franklin voted yes for the debt exclusion for their own school but no for Countryside.
Does anyone know in regards to Horace Mann…when the decision was made to move that school to the old Carr school which has been previously renovated to be swing space (https://www.t2architecture.com/carr-elementary )why it was not determined at that point in time that money would be needed to make the school work as the new HM? It seems like the issue relates to size of spaces so something that should have been pretty clear.
Everyone knew that H-M needed to be expanded and renovated when it was moved to the old Carr School. It was an extremely controversial decision that neither parents nor staff supported. Unfortunately, parents weren’t aware of the level of deficiencies until the students were in the school. But it quickly became apparent that the facility was completely inadequate and parents and staff held many highly contentious meetings about it.
That was five years ago and the situation has not been addressed as a comprehensive project. Josh Morse, as always, has done his best to address individual issues.
It’s exciting to see David beat Goliath for a change in Newton. Time to watch the 2024 proposed budget like a hawk. Isn’t the council up for re-election in November? Fuller could have had the override election simultaneous to the municipal election and saved the city at least $200,000. It’s not as if the electorate is watching spending that closely.
Sure, and delaying the override election until the municipal election would have raised the cost of Countryside for Newton (which passed, for the record) by $20 Million.
And it seems highly plausible it would have passed at the additional $20 Million cost too, since Franklin passed with similar margin.
Talk about a penny wise and pound foolish proposal.
Fossil, you’re making many assumptions around the additional $20 million. For example, Newton could have committed to Countryside with its matching State funds and put the Senior Center on the override or Newton could have held the override vote for Countryside last fall with the general election, and saved the City the cost of a special election.
Lucia, I’ve made exactly one assumption: Janet’s hypothetical proposal, specifically as stated, was the proposal under debate.
I’d certainly agree anyone can game hypothetical proposals that are more likely, or less likely, to achieve almost any desired political outcome. Hardly surprising that an opponent of any currently funded item might wish for a do over under such a new hypothetical.
It would be a hopeful sign for the whole city if the administration and/or council would finally acknowledge that the NO vote on question 1 sends a clear message
from voters and taxpayers that spending prioritization must be improved. However, i would not bet on it!
The current group of elected leaders – the most vocal, from the Mayor’s office to City Council and School Committee – has developed a track record of not acknowledging any opinions outside of their own….and I firmly believe this is the primary reason why question 1 was voted down. So I’m not holding my breath. Hopefully last night was the first step to meaningful change.
This is pretty much what I expected. I think there are a lot of reasons why Q1 failed, but one thing I think is there was just too much stuff in the question.
Do you think there would be support for the H-M project as a DE in the very near future?
I just hope that the City Council hears that, despite the complaints they receive about the roads, the vast majority of people aren’t that concerned about the issue. The questions that passed related to rebuilding outdated and unhealthy schools.
Jane – i think there would be support. Actions from yesterday support my view. Directed funding for school with guaranteed use of proceeds is the difference.
There was no trust for the mayors choices. She needs to pause the bullsh1t and listen to voters. Sorry, but NPS is VERY important to the community. It wasnt to the mayor and her game of chicken failed. Now watch as she poniess up the cash and claims to be the savior. The savior for a problem she intentionally created.
Wait for it….
My Precinct went yes for Franklin ( our school ) but No for Countryside. Which does make us look totally selfish but, also I think highlights the challenges of governing a little city vs a small town like Weston. What’s happening on Moody Street in Waltham probably has more impact on our daily lives than issues way on the other side of Newton so the feeling of one unified town wasn’t there for many voters here.
Michael – on the other hand voters in Countryside’s ward also approved Franklin, so Newton being a city instead of a town may not be the explaining factor.
Michael, some Ward 3 precincts (3 for jnstance) barely approved Franklin. The best explanation I have is that they would have been “no, no, no” except for Franklin, which ended up helping Franklin slightly outpace Countryside citywide.
From a pure need basis, that is objectively backwards, and I am a Franklin parent.
Just happy they both passed. Horace Mann needs relief immediately as well.
@Richard Slater – Totally agree. Voters want their elected officials to prioritize spending and practice fiscal restraint.
Lenny Gentile deserves a “Profile in Courage award” for speaking up for the silent majority. I think we will see several City Council races this Fall and the message is clear “You can’t spend money you don’t have”.
Peter, Councilor Gentile said two conflicting things: we have lots of money we can spend without raising taxes, and “we have a spending problem”.
I don’t believe he ever said what spending problem Newton has from his perspective.
Mike – never spoken to councillor gentile but…
Perhaps we have too many NPS administrators. Perhaps we waste money on things like bike lanes and webster woods. Perhaps we waste todays dollars prefunding pensions. Perhaps we have too many city councillors (small annual spend, big pension liability). Perhaps we have too many programs that only benefit a few people (like NewMo).
Instead of funding these niche projects (spending problem), perhaps we should be eager and ready to give whatever is needed to the core services required for society: Police, Fire, Emergency Services, NPS and city government (albeit scaled back).
This is our spending problem. Too much spend on stuff on a tiny fraction of the city uses or cares about (newcal, gath pool, bike lanes, etc). How many people go to the senior center every day? Gath pool? While i love having these things, when you have a budget and limited money they are nice to haves, not must haves like Police or Teachers.
Frank, If you check the budget for 2023, schools gets 55%. Pensions get 11%, DPW gets 6% ($32M), Fire 5% ($27M), Police 5% ($22M). debt 5%, parks 1.5%, library 1.2%, health and human services 1%. With just those we get to 91.2% of the budget. See here:
https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/83725/637859566768370000
In comparison, the city cost for NewMo that includes senior transportation is $300K, with the rest being grants, for a service that offers low cost transportation to anyone who needs it in Newton. Bike lanes are primarily paint, with several bike and pedestrian projects paid for by state grants.
The budget should be much more accessible and understandable to people. That doesn’t mean that there’s any chance to find $6M a year hiding somewhere.
I do look forward to more discussion about the rate of pension funding. But I suspect you’ll hear many more councilors pushing back on changes than spoke up during the override. And ultimately the decision is up the Retirement Board.
I was born and raised in Newton. Attended Mason Rice. Played in the NCP daily for decades. Over the years I have witnessed the deterioration of the streets of Newton. The potholes are disgraceful. I have seen mayors like Basbas, Mann, Concannon etc do a great job of addressing issues that make Newton the City that I loved growing up….I typically drive my friends and relatives through Newton to BC events or restaurants. But when I traverse the streets now it’s an embarrassment. Out of state BC parents who drive up Comm Ave from Auburndale must be appalled at the awful roads and their conditions. Sadly newton does not have exclusivity on pitiful leadership. Boston’s mayor has betrayed the citizens by her crazy ideas, like rent control. It’s time for a state wide mandate on term limits for these life time politicians. newton has a lot to be proud of, but the time has come to fix the most basic issues like getting from one’s home to work or play and get home safely rather than playing dodge em.
I hear you, but as a coach that travelled to schools in similarly affluent communities- Concord and Sudbury, for example- I was always struck by the higher quality of the athletic facilities elsewhere. Those funds in the defeated proposal that would have gone to improving our athletic facilities would have been well spent. I guess that you could argue that in tough economic times, the city should tighten its belt and its residents accept the limitations. Still, it saddens me.
I voted No, Yes, Yes on the overrides, and my Q1 “No” vote was an explicit “No Confidence” vote for Mayor Fuller. If there is a future Horace Mann Debt Exclusion, I would definitely vote “Yes” for that and so would many other Newton residents.
I didn’t want to give Mayor Fuller a blank check with the operational override of Q1, and felt that she was just using Horace Mann to get this blank check. Up until the overrides, Mayor Fuller has displayed zero interest in NPS, or anything else that affects the middleclass.
First off, thank you to everyone who voted. There’s a narrative forming by some that there two school questions passed decisively and that if Horace Mann was it’s own question, it would have passed too, and that we should rush to try again!
Wrong.
Just under half of the voters did not support either Question 2 & 3. Let’s respect the fact that they made their voice heard. Let’s respect the fact that many of them are struggling to makes ends meat. Many of them had to take time off work (or fill out and pay to mail an absentee ballot) to vote no when all the $$ and loudest voices told them to vote yes.
This was not a buzzdozer win for the establishment. The Mayor, City Council and political elite in Newton should respect the will of the voters. They should think about talking with, getting to know, and most importantly, listening to those who are struggling in our city.
It’s pretty rich to see Michael Halle continuing on his vilification of Councilor Gentile, perhaps the actions (or inactions) of Council President Albright, whether deliberate or not, packed a pretty strong punch to voters. If someone is looking for reasons why the operating override failed, they would be remiss not to put this at the top of the list.
I’m not vilifying Councilor Gentile, I’m quoting him, fairly and in context.
He supported his “no, no, no” position with fiscal claims that no other Councilor made about untapped city funds. He also stated “Newton has a spending problem” but didn’t elaborate.
Seems pretty reasonable to ask him to provide more details, especially now that the operating override has failed.
It seems like everyone interprets the vote as a no confidence in the mayor, what about no confidence in the leadership of NTA?
It seems as though the ballot questions became a referenda on Mayor Fuller. Fair enough; skepticism is certainly warranted these days. However, I’m curious as to how a Mayor Lennon or Mayor Sangiolo would have done things differently or how they wouldn’t have faced the same challenges.
Perhaps the outcome may have been different if Amy had been elected. After all, she was blunt from the outset for a need for an override versus, as I recall, the cagier (and perhaps more politically savvy) responses from Mayor Fuller and Scott Lennon. Amy set the expectation that, if she were elected, she would pursue an override.
I agree with much of what Laura said.
One more thing. Mayor Fuller’s obvious spin hurt her efforts. She constantly asserted that we have excellent schools while parents were pulling their students out of NPS in droves. She tells us that the city’s finances are “rock solid,” while asking for more tax money to fund the status quo. The override might have been more successful if she admitted that things are not perfect, but we are trying.
I agree as well. Would gladly supported a Mayor Sangiolo led Override effort.
I have been searching but can’t find a source for demographic statistics by Ward and Precinct. It would be an interesting analysis to overlay some basic demographic data (home ownership, home value, med household innc, age) to outcomes.
One source of demographic data from the Mass DOR.
https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Dashboard.Category_5
There is NO appetite in the City for any further Overrides or Debt Exclusions. The message from the Voters is clear they want fiscal restraint. We need to prioritize spending.
You don’t have an appetite for a DE for Horace-Mann, Peter, so vote no. But others feel differently. Five years ago H-M was moved from the Watertown location to the old Carr School, despite the fact it was known to be a completely inadequate facility.
Many people understand the inequities that exist in the NPS system and are concerned about this situation. The very sad part about the H-M story is that this would never happen to a school community in other parts of the city.
Thank you Valerie. That’s kind of you to say.
I enjoy armchair commenting as much as the next cookie named avatar, but I have trouble drawing political conclusions from this particular vote.
But let me throw my proverbial hat in the ring with my personal opinions:
1) Result is not a huge surprise. Especially when a lot of folks pushed this as the middle ground (the Chamber, excellence in our schools, even some of the city councilors). And the override was the item that raised taxes NOW, vs in a few years when times might be better. And the override was larger and more a hodgehog of items, which is harder to explain.
2) The groups that pushed voting no on the override to improve the schools had a big impact. I talked to a number of parents who think, like Sumukh does, that this was a needed result and that it will serve as a catalyst to major improvements, a blue ribbon commission, and perhaps a different override. Personally, I thought that was…unlikely. And I thought they were used by the “no” side to weaken the argument for the override. But it was a successful argument for some. We will now see if they were right. I hope they were, I want the schools to improve too. But if they are wrong, I hope people remember that too. Along with Paul Levy’s vote to abstain, which I also disagreed with.
3) I’m already seeing emails that we need a debt override for H-M. I doubt that happens anytime soon either. But I do hope they get an improved building. From the Cabot experience, I doubt they will anytime soon. I’d vote for anything that helps them get one though. I enjoyed the Carr School experience in comparison to the old Cabot, but they were promised improvements. The Mayor should find a way to deliver.
4) In terms of Mayor Fuller, I think it was a mistake to move forward with the senior center if an override was coming. That came up a lot. Or the senior center should have part of the override. I like the idea of the senior center, but it was a stick that opponents used a lot to criticize spending priorities. And now without funding, I’m worried about the effectiveness of the senior center operations. Even as a supporter of the override, I can see the argument. Is that a need, or a want?
5) Also in terms of Mayor Fuller, I do think an override is about trust. It is also about economics. These are tough times and inflation has hit everyone, the banking crisis occurred right before the vote. The Override failed 47% to 53%. Her elections have generally been close, maybe reversing that. And the two debt exclusions passed. So while I acknowledge a very vocal opposition to the Mayor, I think her reelection is a few years away, I think she also has a strong core of supporters, and I’m not even sure if she is running again. I’m sure some of the votes were a referendum on the Mayor, some on the schools, some on personal economics. In conclusion, in terms of the Mayor, I draw few conclusions. I remember a host of commenters talking about how the special elections for city council meant a sea change was coming in the next election. Literally nothing changed. Newton voters contain multitudes apparently. I do think this loss makes it more likely the Mayor faces a challenger if she runs again. But the folks saying this changes everything for the Mayor didn’t support her in the first place, so I’ll take their conclusions with some degree of doubt (and remembering their predictions in some cases about the last election being completely wrong…)
6) I don’t envy the job of the school committee. Even if you think the mayor was playing games with the budget, or that there are secret pockets of funds hidden away, that budget gap is daunting. I will say this: If you are trying to convince parents to come back to the schools who left, increasing class size is basically going to do the exact opposite. Even the best teachers struggle to teach to a large class in my experience. I’ve already talked to a few parents who are asking if they need to apply to private schools next year due to the override failing. And the next budget negotiation with the teachers union is going to be very difficult. We had trouble affording the last contract, never mind the next one. And our neighboring towns/cities already compensate their teachers more for the most part. So the wider market is saying one thing, while our internal budget is saying something else. That’s going to produce a brutal conflict.
I appreciate the many conversations over the past few months with folks on both sides of this vote. Shout out to Mike Halle, who was always polite even in the face of some folks who were not.
As I mentioned before the vote, taking some time off online commenting. But as a last word, to the folks feeling a bit blue about the override failing (or the folks who voted against the override and are feeling blue about the city/school/leadership), I say have faith. Newton remains a great place to live and work, and things will be ok. Maybe not perfect, but it’ll be ok. It would be nice if we were all a bit kinder to each other along the way. We are, after all, neighbors.
Cheers to all,
Figgy
p.s. For the folks who dislike my posts for how long they are, I made this last one extra long to give you something to remember me in my absence. 😉
@Fig – I read the whole thing!
I agree with much of your analysis. As you know.
My next question – who will oppose the Mayor, because this was a referendum on her (the degree of which I admit is debatable). Perhaps it only swung 500 voters, but that could have made the difference.
Remember, Fuller won 10912-9380 vs Amy. or 53.7%-46.2%. This was 10566-9488, or 52.6%-47.3%. That 5ish% swing was a big deal. The “independent vote” perhaps. This was a policy vote, not a vote for the person. The “independents” might like Mayor Fuller, but could also have disagreed with her priorities as far as the budget and the resulting “need” (I still argue fake and manufactured) for an op override.
So, who is it going to be???
Frank D:
I appreciate the desire to predict here, but it so far away that I have no idea. I’m guessing at least some of the group of city councilors that refused to give their opinions on the override have future plans to run for office and wanted to preserve flexibility about saying that they didn’t support an unpopular override. And I’d guess that Amy plans to run again, or is at least thinking about it, based on her website and Fig City News. And I’m not even sure Mayor Fuller wants to run for a third term.
I’m sure she will have challengers. I would still say she would be difficult to beat in a two person race. I know there is a lot of very vocal online posters who don’t like her, but online noise isn’t necessary reality (look to the last election for a prime example of that).
A lot can change in 2 years of course. Probably why overrides only occur off-cycle too, no?
Fig, an insightful post. Your contributions are valued.
@Jane Frantz – Sorry, no more opportunities to Vote for an Override or DE. Any monies for Horace Mann will need to be financed by creative approaches or moving monies from other operating expenses. The message was sent loud and clear.
Peter, I appreciate that this is the “Peter Karg” view, but I don’t think that message was sent loud and clear at all. If that was the message, then the “no” side would have won all three. The campaign run by the “no” side was “no, no, no” not “no, yes, yes”. If anything the message was sent that the city will support debt exclusions for specific school projects, but won’t support an override at this time. Because the debt overrides passed. You can’t claim a mandate when the no side actually lost the actual votes you are declaring a mandate on.
If you want to draw a conclusion that the city won’t support a new override anytime soon, I’d agree. But I’d think a debt exclusion vote for Horace Mann and perhaps the Gath Pool or police stations improvements would have a good chance of success. It just depends on the project (and I admit that HM might not be as sympathetic as the other schools as the building is not in as dire straights as it was somewhat rehabbed in the last decade) . Specific projects seem to attract the extra 6% of support that an override does not. THAT was the message that was sent loud and clear.
I do however doubt the political will to go through this again anytime soon. But perhaps next year, with enough public pushing from HM parents, that will change.
Fig_
Just as a clarification, HM was not rehabbed in 2013. The basic infrastructure (heating, electrical, etc) was repaired but that was it. The improvements were specifically to make the building liveable with the intent that it would be used as swing space while new schools were built. It was never intended to be a permanent school.
I remember hearing about the poor condition of what was previously called the Carr School from teachers who taught in it.
Jane:
My apologies. I wasn’t exact enough with my “somewhat rehabbed”. I appreciate the clarification.
Figgy,
From your keyboard (mouth) to G-d’s server (ears), amen!
Which part Janet?
Maybe we can start a new thread where we can discuss ideas for budget cuts that don’t involve NPS academic instruction? I suspect there is a lot of stuff in the municipal budget that could disappear with barely anyone noticing.
Great idea, Tim. Love the “flip the pancake” attitude, as espoused by our sons’ teachers at Cabot. When we were looking to move here from the southside of Chicago nearly 30 years ago, we zeroed in on four towns based solely on two factors — school system and short commutes (Boston for me, Cambridge for my husband). We both voted yes on all three overrides and believe NPS needs to be strongly supported. I don’t know the ins and outs of the budget well enough to make suggestions but look forward to reading what others have to offer.
@ Frank D – I believe Marc Laredo will run for Mayor in 2025 bringing a more balanced approach in managing city finances.
Marc will be a very credible candidate.
Peter, agreed. Marc understands issues very well and has a more balanced approach.
Though it didn’t affect my personal vote, in hindsight the messaging on Horace Mann was confusing. HM isn’t our school district so I didn’t know the recent history there. The language on the ballot for “improvements” was vague, I didn’t know if that meant a building addition, repainting…? Countryside and Franklin questions were clear: the current buildings are bad, we’re constructing new ones. Simple.
Only in the past few days after the vote have I heard from people more in-the-know about the depth of problems with the previous Horace Mann construction. Maybe it would have swung some people to Yes on #1 had those issues the HM community has dealt with been more clearly explained to the average moderately informed voter.
I would agree that the plan for Horace Mann is a little unclear. Maybe more info is out there but I couldn’t easily find it. In doing a little digging on the override website I found the following. It looks like the total addt’l investment there was expected to be $23M which the Mayor was going to apply $$7.5M of free cash leaving $15.5 M …is the $775k per yr to cover financing?:
“The Horace Mann School has a total project budget of $23M. This is in addition to and complements the close to $15M in investments in the school over the past ten years. Every building system was replaced and upgraded in 2013, so the existing building is in great physical condition. However, the upgrades in 2013 were to prepare the building for use as a temporary swing space and did not make the long-term space investments needed to make the building a permanent home for Horace Mann.
The funding for the $23M total project budget will come from two sources: the override and Free Cash ($7.5M). Mayor Fuller will docket with the City Council the use of the Free Cash for this purpose pending the outcome of the special election.
The Horace Mann School is lacking appropriately sized classrooms, special education and student service spaces, a single space where the school can gather for assemblies, a functional cafeteria or performance space, a media center or library, and programmatic adjacencies that promote collaboration and educational clustering. Due to the hard work of the staff, the Horace Mann School is incredible. However, their success is a result of overcoming the daily facility challenges which is not a model we should continue to support.”
One question I have been wondering about related to the school buildings. The City acquired Aquinas and did some renovations go make the space suitable for NECP. The original intent was to house both the preschool and Lincoln-Eliot into that campus but they have now moved the preschool to the old Horace Mann. I assume that Aquinas was made suitable for preschoolers in that initial project. Did they only renovate a portion of that campus? With the portion orig set aside for the preschool will that be kept as is when Lincoln Eliot moves in or will the renovation currently in the planning process also end up modifying that space to be sufficient for elementary aged kids? And if the latter at what costs? The preschool moved into Aquinas in 2016-17 and moved out this yr so they were there for only 6 yrs.
On a similar note Newton invested $15M in Carr in 2014 to make it swing space and now needs to invest $23M to make it suitable for permanent use.
Anyone have any insight on these building projects?