Please visit www.savesowamsschool.com/ for more information and steps on how to take action!

At the end of July, the Barrington School Building Committee fast-tracked their selection of option 2B, a plan that would call for a near $100 million bond expenditure to achieve the following for our elementary schools:

• Demolish Sowams School
• Convert Nyatt into Pre-k/K
• Construct two new 1-5 schools at Primrose and Hampden Meadows
• Beyond demolishing Sowams School, the state passed legislation, H-7943, that could see Barrington lose control of the property, requiring it be turned over to the state for consideration for affordable housing.

In addition, this was done with minimal community engagement. A single workshop session was said to have the feel of a sales pitch by a design firm, Kaestle Boos Associates, inc. (KBA) A survey was drafted by KBA with oversight from the Building Committee and distributed to the community. This was not a survey. It was propaganda, with questions so leading dissent to the pitched options was impossible.

After the final presentation of all available options, only one of which called for the preservation of Sowams School, the building committee voted to approve option 2B, followed by community comment (decide first, debate later). This was all conducted with minimal community feedback. And this is wrong.

We firmly believe, backed by decades of study, that intimate, small elementary education school experiences are not just the best for Barrington but the best for everyone. We oppose the demolishing of Sowams School. We oppose the construction of two large (~600 students) elementary schools. And we oppose the roughly 15% tax increase that will be required to support this plan, which makes Barrington less affordable for young families and seniors. Please join us.