Public Was Heard On Beebe School — Will School Committee Listen?

MELROSE, MA — Score one for the public process? The School Committee has heard the public's displeasure with how the discussion on the future of the Beebe School has played out, and it may impact how the situation is handled moving forward.

School Committee Chair Ed O'Connell told Patch after Nov. 19's public hearing that while he can't speak for the whole Committee, the outcry made it clear residents think the process has moved too fast and kept too many of them in the dark.

"Speaking as one member — and not on behalf of the Committee in this particular regard — what I took away was a sense that many in the community feel this process is moving faster than they would like, that a number of people feel that the chance to reclaim the Beebe School may present an opportunity for a review and decision-making process with more direct community involvement, and that, despite our best efforts at outreach and information-sharing, there is a sense that decisions have been or will be made without appropriate community input or meaningful participation," he said.

The timeline on the Beebe decision will probably be extended, though that's not necessarily a response to the public. The SEEM Collaborative, which currently leases the Beebe, will discuss two newly received lease proposals at its Dec. 17 board meeting. The SEEM finding a new home will allow the district to take back use of the Beebe before the lease is set to expire June 30, 2021.

The School Committee, which had initially planned to vote on the Beebe Dec. 10, may reschedule the vote to the first week of the new year.

That buys some time to discuss alternative options. While the School Committee has never said there were only two options, much of the talk revolved around the two offered by Superintendent Cyndy Taymore.

But O'Connell told Patch he feels that "any and all options are on the table."

Taymore's options boil down to the Beebe as a grade K-5 school and a Beebe/Franklin using the two buildings as pre-K/K school while the others become grades 1-5. Based on how the options were presented, Taymore appears to favor the latter.

Taymore said other options — such as using the Franklin as a single-grade school, moving fifth grade to the secondary campus or sharing space with SEEM — have been weighed over the past couple years. Those discussions have not taken place in as public a forum as residents have wanted to see.

"You have to understand that no matter what the model, teachers in Melrose will make it work," Taymore said at the public hearing.

One sticking point continues to be how the district will populate the Beebe, particularly if it becomes a K-5 school. Taymore said the school will house about 240 students; the grades 1-5 students would need to be transferred in from other schools.

Taymore said an emailed request for volunteers to move to the Beebe as of Nov. 19 saw eight families respond for a total of 10 children.

"One of the hallmarks of this district for the past eight years has been the consistency and the fidelity with which we have developed and implemented our educational program across all five buildings," Taymore said. "Regardless of the model we pick, that has to continue."

The feedback on the Beebe has been unmistakable. O'Connell told Patch the School Committee has received more input from the public on this situation than the override and the last two budget processes combined.

Even as talks carry on and more options are considered, sooner or later the School Committee will need to make a decision on the Beebe.

"There is no simple solution here," Taymore said, "and again, there is no solution that will please everyone."