Charter Revision Panel: Increase School Bd To 7

By John Voket

The Newtown Charter Revision Commission voted at its most recent meeting to recommend increasing the size of the school board from six to seven. The action is related to one for more than 20 charges to the panel that is more than eight months into its review and possible modification to Newtown’s formal constitutional document.

The action on the Board of Education followed a period of discussion related to several reconsidered questions that had already been voted on, and then were subsequently reopened for further discussion. Those three issues involved length of terms for the Legislative Council, and the boards of finance and selectmen.

During the discussion, charter commissioner Carolyn Signorelli said keeping the three town boards on a two-year reelection schedule was probably the right thing to do.

“Accountability is extremely important and right now there’s not too much of that going on in this town,” she said.

Charter Revision Commission Chairman Al Cramer agreed, saying, “I’m in favor of two-year terms, and I have been all along.”

“I’ve seen disruptive people on the Board of Selectmen and the council. And the only way they can removed is if the party representing them chooses not to renominate them for election,” Mr Cramer added.

By back-to-back votes, with commissioners Joe Hemingway and LeReine Frampton opposing each time, the panel voted to maintain its earlier decisions to restrict terms for the three boards to two years. Both Mr Hemingway and Ms Frampton have repeatedly asserted that they think these leading elected boards should have four-year terms.

Mr Cramer reminded the commissioners that by reopening these matters and reconsidering the original vote, that the actions are now final, and these particular matters can no longer be reopened or revisited by the panel. The commission then took up the vote on the makeup of the Board of Education.

He told the charter panel that despite being contacted by school board Chairman Elaine McClure and Vice Chairman Lisa Schwartz asking that the vote be postponed, he was inclined to move it forward. The commissioners agreed and after brief discussion, unanimously endorsed recommending an increase to the school board from its present six to seven members.

The next item was related to having the council members elected at large rather than by district. That motion failed as a result of a tied vote of 3-3 among the panel, at which time Ms Frampton moved the council be elected in two districts instead of the current three.

That proposal passed by a vote of 4-2 with commissioners Joan Plouffe and Guy Howard opposing. Ms Frampton, who is also a town registrar, has maintained that adjusting to a two-district system would allow for polls to be established at the middle school and Reed Intermediate School, removing the polling places from local elementary schools.

An additional proposal to consider reducing the size of the Legislative Council from 12 to 8 is scheduled to be considered by the charter commissioners next Tuesday, March 13. In other action, the charter commission voted unanimously to allow the town finance director to, in effect, refinance existing bonds if it is determined that a relevant savings to taxpayers would result.

The commission’s final action February 27 involved the number of referendums required to pass the budget before the proposal goes to town meeting. The initial proposal to reduce the referendums from two to one was voted down by a 5-1 margin.

After reconsidering the measure, it was decided to recommend leaving the referendum stipulation as it is currently stated. That measure affirming a two-vote process then passed unanimously.