BY ABBY FOX

East Greenwich voters stood behind the $52 million bond referendum for school renovation, most notably for a totally new middle school, showing their support with 62 percent of the vote.

The vote was a solid 4,115-2,460 for Question Four, a virtual mandate that made supporters so excited that Cole Principal Michael Zajac called for a next-day celebration at Cole Junior High.

“The feeling is relief and elation,” said Jay Gowell, chair of the building committee. “We’re just delighted that all the effort that’s gone into both the building plan as well as the most recent advocacy has resulted in success.”

The vote indicates that “The future of the schools is now assured,” he said.

Town councilor Henry Boezi agreed that the vote was as much a referendum on the future of East Greenwich as on the schools. “As the school goes, so goes our community,” he said. Fellow re-elected town councilor Mark Schwager struck the same tone. “The most enduring legacy to come out of this election is the passing of the school bond and the senior bond. Councils come and go but the community support for those bonds was satisfying and encouraging,” he said.

Gowell said the school campaign worked because the committee work was built upon with “a real grassroots group, and that’s where Patricia Colgan and Pattie DePriest, David Preston, of New Harbor Group, stepped up to the plate, in terms of organizing community outreach and getting our message out. We’re just very gratified.”

Boezi shared in the relief and looked back on the months of campaigning, all over town. “When we started this, there were so many doubters about this thing passing,” he said. School committee member Jean Ann Guliano concurred: “We’ve been campaigning at least a year and a half,” she said. “There was no grass growing under our feet on this.”

Boezi and others worried about the possibility of people voting on the school bond in separate pieces. “We said no; we’re going to roll the dice; it’s all or nothing,” he said. “And then we went to work. I went to 17 gatherings [to persuade people to vote].”

Boezi said his message to people was: “We don’t have a choice. It’s just got to be done.”

Colgan, the lead organizer of group, Yes for EG Schools, said mid-day Tuesday that “I feel really good about it,” after five weeks of phone calls and more than 2,500 people pledged their support.

That night, with champagne corks popping at her home in celebration, she said, “We are so excited; it’s just phenomenal.” The two-to-one vote margin “showed how badly we needed it.”

Colgan thanked parents, who “really stepped up today and came out; they really wanted to see this happen.”

She said the group was encouraged to see teachers and administrators sign up to phone bank, while students helped out other volunteers stand at the polls all day Tuesday, and knowledgeable people such as David Preston helped ensure it was a serious, focused campaign.

As exciting as the win was for school supporters, the margin of victory was even more encouraging.

“I really feel this is going to bring the whole town together,” Guliano said. “It’s going to be a community project. We’re all going to be behind this.”

Senior bond does well

The senior center bond was approved by about 300 votes, attracting 52 percent of the votes, a much smaller margin than what the school bond vote enjoyed.

“I’m very excited,” Senior Services Executive Director Erin McAndrew said. “The seniors have already called me; they were very excited. We looking forward to renovating the building and having a home of our own.”

The latest on the project is that the architect’s offer has come down from the original and McAndrew plans to meet with the town council on Monday to vote on the contract and move forward with the project.