New public tennis courts. A community walking track. Enrichment programs for all ages. These are among the things town and school representatives promised Westport residents when they asked them to accept paying more in taxes to finance the new Middle/High School.

“A community space for everyone,” is how Superintendent Thomas Aubin described it. 

“I envision the fields, classrooms, and technology spaces in the new building bustling with students, coaches, teachers, and community members….” said Principal Laura Charrette.

We believed these statements and voted to fund the school accordingly. As parents and users of the Westport tennis courts, we were glad that the town was investing in its children’s future, and eager to play on the new courts. We welcomed the idea of having an indoor track to walk on during the coldest months. 

Alas, none of these promises have been kept. As soon as the tennis courts were completed at the end of summer of 2021, they were locked. Westport residents were told that because the playing fields weren’t ready, the courts could only be used by the school for phys ed classes. Even when they weren’t in use by the students during the school days, we were told we couldn’t use them because it posed a “safety issue.”

This is a huge blow to Westport’s large tennis-playing community, who for years have counted on coming to the town’s courts during the week for exercise and social interaction. Before the new school complex was built, the courts were always available to the community when students were not using them.    

Westport residents also have no access to the indoor walking track. Asked about this, Superintendent Aubin said it was a “complex issue” with no easy solution. There doesn’t appear to be any attempt to resolve it, at least not anything that has been made public.  

Now that the playing fields are finally ready, one would hope that the community could use them – at least on weekends when the school doesn’t have any games scheduled. They, too, are locked and unavailable to us.

Such disregard for the town residents who underwrote the school is troubling, to say the least. Superintendent Aubin and the school committee like to refer to Westport Middle/High School as a community school, but they should understand that a ‘community’ school that does not actually serve the community in which it resides more often than not fails. Not because it doesn’t educate, but because it’s not a true part of the community.

With the advent of the new school year, and with the lack of playing fields no longer an issue, we hope that the Superintendent will reconsider residents’ request for sufficient access to the tennis courts during the week, and will work with us on finding a solution to the indoor walking track situation.  

Laura Nelson

Westport

Editor's note: The letter was co-signed by residents Emily Hoeffel, Lee Tripp, Melanie Camara, Kristi Pickering, Kathryn Lamontagne, Ph.D., Elin-Mari Heggland, Julie Reitzas, Nancy DiNardo, Jessica Inwood, Dione Croes, Kim Duclos, Jennifer Leite, Ann Domagala, Emily Edwards and Jenna and Marc Domagala