Don’t Blame School Board For High Costs

To the Editor:

It is grossly unfair to blame the Board of Education for the escalating cost of educating the children of this town. The needs are not “nice-to-haves” and are genuine due to the sustained residential growth of Newtown. According to the US Census data, the population of Newtown has grown from 20,779 to 26,802 from 1990 to 2004 with the student enrollment increasing from 3,428 to 5,496 (5,647 in 2005). It is reported that Newtown has used about 44 percent of the land for residential development and about 34 percent of the land is still available for future development. Only two percent of the land is used for commercial/industrial development. There is a potential for a significant increase in Newtown’s population with significant enrollment increases in our schools. The increase in enrollment is a direct result of this residential development. Quality of our schools attracts people to move to Newtown and avoiding the realistic costs to sustain the quality will be a huge mistake.

Rather than providing the “bottom-line” message to the Board of Education, our town leaders should get together as a nonpartisan group to financially plan for the future of this growing town. The concern for all taxpayers is genuine, therefore I have given you encouragement to pursue increasing state funding of education by joining CCJEF as one possible option. The town leaders need to think long-term when making decisions about CIPs. Newtown spent $28 million in 1997 to expand the high school and we already have a critical shortage of space in 2005. This short sighted planning strategy in 1997 will cost the taxpayers much more than the amount they saved as a result of the favorable bond rating it received by limiting its CIP spending at that time. Lack of sound long-term planning will be a financial burden to the taxpayers in the future. Furthermore, I am having difficulty understanding why the Board of Finance and others were shocked by the $41 million cost of the impending high school addition. Following is the Connecticut State Department of Education’s list of towns that have expanded their high school in last five years:

Groton $45 million; Bethel $25.3 million; Fairfield $51.7 million; New Canaan $54.5 million; Shelton $25 million; Norwalk $48.1 million; Stonington $24 million; Westport $89.3 million; Stamford $28 million; Brookfield $24.2 million; Darien $71.6 million; Monroe $27.7 million; Ridgefield $52 million; Weston $35.8 million; Oxford $49.8 million; Glastonbury $38.6 million; Regional District #9 Joel Barlow $27.2 million; Regional District #15 Pomperaug $25.5 million.

There was a discussion at the High School Space Needs Committee and the Board of Education meetings that we will spend $41 million knowing that there is a chance that the high school enrollment will surpass 1,900 within the eight-year period and we may need yet another addition in the near future. The architects will have significant challenges with the existing site as the current location is highly developed with parking limitations. The town leaders need to discuss the feasibility of building a new high school at another site to accommodate the numbers of students well beyond the eight-year projected numbers and incorporate the needs of the community as well. Perhaps we should think about building a separate recreation center with a pool/an auditorium/senior center/teen center. This recreation center could also generate yearly revenues for the town as well. Newtown is challenged in the area of raising revenues.

Po Murray

38 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook                    November 1, 2005