Parents and teachers urge delay, clarity as Rolling Green preschool moves to Robinson; Little Hornets daycare to close

Dozens of parents, Rolling Green staff and union representatives pressed the Mansfield School Committee on April 29 for more time and clearer logistics after the district announced it will relocate the Rolling Green preschool program to the Robinson School and close the Little Hornets staff daycare.

The concerns centered on transportation, parking, classroom size, play space and stakeholder involvement. “The current rush timeline raises significant issues,” parent Alyssa Maxwell said. She asked the district to delay the move by a year to allow a planning committee of parents, educators and town officials to resolve traffic, parking and car‑line safety. “I believe that a 1 year delay in this move is crucial,” Maxwell said.

Other parents echoed the call for more stakeholder input. “The amount of concerns that have been brought up by staff and parents, along with the lack of stakeholder involvement, is alarming,” said parent Ally Vinny, who asked the district to form a committee that includes Rolling Green staff, parents and administrators and to provide written answers about classrooms, bathrooms, playground accessibility, storage and whether Rolling Green will remain a separate program or be subsumed into Robinson.

Andrea Latham, a Mansfield graduate, teacher and Rolling Green parent, said staff and families felt excluded from the decision. “Ignoring, excluding, and or silencing teacher voices is a surefire way to lose high quality educators,” she said. Latham also described uncertainty among special‑needs families about storage for materials, play areas and how the move would affect transitions to kindergarten.

Tim Carpenter, a QMS teacher speaking for the Mansfield Educators Association (MEA), said the union had proposed alternate spacing plans and that staff believed there was space to preserve both the Little Hornets program and Rolling Green classroom needs. “There is space,” Carpenter said. He urged the school committee to question central‑office conclusions and to work with the MEA on impact bargaining over decisions made at the central office.

The committee read a prepared statement to the meeting clarifying the district’s rationale. “As part of planning for the 2025–26 school year, the district’s Rolling Green preschool program will relocate to the Robinson School. As a result, the Little Hornets staff daycare will close at the end of this school year,” the statement said. It added that the preschool is a state‑mandated program that has grown, and that Robinson offers “better facilities and access to district resources, smoother transitions to kindergarten, and alignment with our other grade levels.” The statement said Little Hornets is not mandated, is not fully self‑funded and that the town covers significant costs for that daycare.

Superintendent and central‑office staff said they had explored alternative locations for Little Hornets but found none that met safety, space and programming requirements. The district said it will hold a parent orientation at Robinson on Monday, June 2 for families who received enrollment letters.

The committee did not reverse the relocation decision during the meeting. Parents and staff asked the committee to set up clearer communication, publish detailed traffic plans, confirm accessible playground provision and ensure adequate classroom and storage space before the move.

The committee also acknowledged interest in preserving Little Hornets’ vocational opportunities for high school students and promised continued outreach about next steps and enrollment timelines.

Ending: The relocation decision stands for now; parents, educators and the MEA asked the district to provide greater transparency, a stakeholder planning committee and concrete answers on parking, play space and operations before the move is implemented this summer.