Editorial: What is the future of the old middle school?

Posted 10/19/18

For the second time in a month, hundreds of Barrington children suddenly had their Saturday schedules cleared while their peers throughout Rhode Island chased after soccer balls on a typical fall day …

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Editorial: What is the future of the old middle school?

Posted

For the second time in a month, hundreds of Barrington children suddenly had their Saturday schedules cleared while their peers throughout Rhode Island chased after soccer balls on a typical fall day in New England. That’s because, for the second time in a month, Barrington’s primary soccer facility was shut down after rains flooded it the previous day.

On fields throughout the state, thousands of children played soccer, yet in Barrington, most of the town’s recreational program shut down, and half the town’s travel teams (those with home games) stayed home.

Is it the town’s fault that Chianese Park does not drain well enough to host hundreds of children the day after major rainstorms? Yes, and no. Chianese is not a great facility, but it was never designed to be the hub for a major sports league. The closure of almost the entire middle school sports complex has exacerbated every field problem in town.

However, this frustrating soccer season — it feels like more practices and games have been canceled than held — should shine an enormous spotlight on that middle school construction site and its future use.

Long-term planning for that complex should be a topic for immediate public discussion, as the stakeholders are numerous. Once the new school opens and the old school is torn down, what will be created along Middle Highway?

Will the middle school facilities be designed to serve the school sports program? The town’s recreational programs? The general public? The sports leagues? All of the above?

Will the complex include a turf field? Should it?

How many fields will there be? Should the site maximize recreational space or parking for public gatherings?

And most importantly, who’s in charge? Who makes the final decision?

Barrington Middle School is not the only recreational space in town that could be better utilized — or created — but it’s the most immediate.

Thousands of Barrington citizens have a stake in the future of that site, and it’s time to start talking about it. This should be a public decision from start to finish.

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.