"I'm relieved. I wouldn't send my children there. I'm a cancer survivor myself, and I think the risk is too great to put a school on toxic land," said parent Karen Fain.
"We're very proud the board decided to go this way, so now we can select a nice healthy site," said opponent Dr. Pat Rose.
The school had been in the works for several years. But opposition only reached a fever pitch during the past couple of weeks.
The district spent nearly $500,000 on environmental testing and studies, and says the site appeared safe.
"In this case emotion overcame science. The Board sensed it and as a result of that, scrapped the project," said a disappointed school superintendent Dr. David Noyes.
The vote was a bitter defeat for Noyes. He will retire at the end of the month. The project was his swan song.
Under his watch, the district poured nearly $4 million into the project.
"All I can say is the next administration will to find a way to recover as much of the funding that was lost as possible."
When the vote was over the superintendent did receive a standing ovation.
Many parents say, despite the project, the district is better today than it was six years ago when Noyes took over.
