Date: Fri 07-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

town-meeting-school-referendum

Full Text:

Town Meeting Approves School Projects; Referendum Petitioned

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Opponents of the high school and Hawley School expansion projects have begun

to circulate petitions to force a referendum on the $29 million expenditure

approved by voters at Monday night's town meeting.

"The town meeting was packed full of special interest groups," said David

Ruscoe of Stek Lane, whose wife picked up petition forms for him at the town

clerk's office Wednesday morning.

"I think all taxpayers and registered voters should have an opportunity to

exercise their democratic right and 450 people shouldn't be putting us into

this significant amount of debt," Mr Ruscoe said.

Voters at the town meeting, using paper ballots, approved the proposed

$24,922,000 high school project, 492 to 88, a margin of more than 5 to 1. The

question of spending $4,183,000 to improve Hawley School was approved 430 to

45, nearly 10-to-1.

Mr Ruscoe said he has a list of people who have agreed to help collect the 579

signatures needed to force a referendum. According to the town charter,

petitions bearing the valid signatures of five percent of the voters on the

most recent voter registration list must be submitted to the town clerk's

office by 4:30 pm on Monday, June 10.

"I'm perfectly able to absorb the cost of the tax increase for these

projects," Mr Ruscoe said. "But I don't think that is the case for a lot of

older folks and longtime residents. The timing isn't right for these projects

and I don't feel they are justified."

Lillian Strickler of Tamarack Road, who is helping with the petitions, said

she is a firm believer in town meetings but "when this amount of money is

being spent, the vote should be done by a machine referendum."

"It's difficult for many people - especially senior citizens and parents with

young children - to go to night meetings," she said. "The referendum is all

day, it includes absentee ballots and is just more democratic."

Immediately after the vote was taken at Monday night's town meeting, Board of

Education President Herb Rosenthal said he was pleased by the large turnout

and "the decisive vote by paper ballot."

"A lot of people worked on this project - school staff and parents - to make

it happen," he said.

Enrollment Growing

School officials, parents, teachers and former and current students spoke in

favor of the high school proposal, which was discussed for more than an hour

before the vote was taken. They pointed out that many of the original

classrooms now are used for special education, computer labs and special

services such as speech therapy, leaving much less space for the growing

school enrollment. The school has 1,080 students and is expected to have as

many as 1,588 in 10 years.

Paul Miles of Bennetts Bridge Road said he was a student at the high school

when it was on double sessions in 1968-70 and he didn't want to see double

sessions at the school again. "Classes were crammed together, there was so

little time. If you don't do it now, you're going to pay for it later," he

said.

"I was the assistant principal when the high school population got to 1,402 in

the late 1970s," said Earl J. Smith, Jr. "We had many problems when the school

population was that size. If it hadn't been for the recession, we would have

put an addition on then."

Attorney Robert Hall said there are 30 percent fewer students in the high

school now than there were 20 years ago and the top projection is only 100

more students than that peak 10 years from now.

"What's the rush? What's the problem?" he asked. "I can tell you what the

problem is. It's a lousy school. But you don't have to add 60 percent more

space."

Joseph McGowan, chairman of the Legislative Council's finance committee, said

he was opposed doing the high school project now because it will double the

town's net debt ratio and put a burden on those people who live in the sewer

district.

"It's not fiscally responsible," he said.

John C. Creasy of Old Bethel Road questioned why the Board of Education took

bids on the project rather than negotiating a contract, calling the board's

method "archaic." Mr Creasy, former president of Danbury Hospital, said the

hospital hasn't used competitive bids since 1980 and has saved 20 percent of

the cost of its building projects by negotiating the contracts.

Mr Rosenthal said the town was required to solicit competitive bids in order

to qualify for $8 million in grants for the projects. He said the board also

hired a construction management firm to review all of the costs and to deal

with the subcontractors.

But Mr Creasy said the University of Connecticut negotiated, rather than bid,

its last major project. "It's hard to believe that a state university can do

it and a local board of education can't," he said.

Nancy McCarthy of Alpine Drive complained that her husband and other

firefighters couldn't attend the town meeting because they were at their

annual elections.

"I attended Newtown High School when there were 1,400 students and I got a

fine education," she added. "We're doing a library, sewers, two school

additions - I want to know where we suddenly got a pot of gold."

The Tax Impact

According to Town Finance Director Benjamin Spragg the impact of the two

projects on the tax rate will be 1.15 mills in 1997, rising to 1.38 mills in

1998, and decreasing steadily afterwards over the 20-year life of the bonds.

For a house assessed at $100,000, 1.15 mills is $115 a year; for a $200,000

assessment it is $230 a year. At its peak in 1998, the impact will be 1.38

mills for the two projects or $138 for a $100,000 assessment, $276 for a

$200,000 assessment.

At the beginning of the meeting K. Michael Snyder, a former councilman and

president of the Chamber of Commerce, proposed an amendment to the rules for

the meeting prohibiting anyone from making a motion to cut off debate until

after everyone was given a chance to speak.

Mary Burnham of Walnut Tree Hill Road objected, explaining that many parents

were attending the meeting with their children or had high school students

babysitting for them at home. She asked that each speaker be limited to two

minutes and that action be taken on the questions no later than 10 pm. The

motion was approved.

Polly Brody spoke several times, emphasizing the need for courtesy, fairness

and a democratic process, "unlike what has occurred at other town meetings."

"It's a shame if people aren't courteous enough to their neighbors to allow

discussion on a $24 million project," she said at one point. "If this is so,

things have changed in the 40 years I've lived in town."

After the vote was taken on the high school project, only eight minutes was

spent discussing the Hawley Project. Mr Ruscoe asked how the vote could be

taken when the actual cost of the project isn't known since it is being rebid.

Architect Rusty Malik from Kaestle Boos said the $4,183,000 is $150,000 less

than the amount of the previous low bid. Some changes were made that should

reduce the cost of the project, he said, and if the bids don't come in lower

other cuts will have to be made in the plans.