The Public Has Spoken

To the Editor:

The Board of Education is discussing the possibility of submitting a request for another referendum on all or part of the $6 million needed to complete the high school expansion project based on the original bids received, as reported in stories carried in this newspaper. If this is true, then I would urge the Board of Education to reconsider this action because I believe another referendum will be perceived as an insult to the voting public and will only result in precipitating more divisiveness in our town.

The Board of Education and the project managing company hired by them made a huge mistake in underestimating the cost of this project. Whether either or both of them should be held responsible for the error in calculation is not the current issue.

The fact is that the public has spoken in their denial of additional funds and a new referendum will be regarded as an attempt to ignore their mandate.

I ran twice in the past several years for a four-year seat on the Board of Education and was unsuccessful both times. The voters spoke and I accepted their determination. I did not ask for a “do over,” or for a new election for a two-year seat. The Board of Education needs to abandon the suggestion of a new referendum and concentrate their efforts in finding ways to wisely spend the $38 million already approved.

There are lessons to be learned from these unfortunate events and one of them is that in the future the Board of Education should find ways to hold project managing companies, to whom they pay millions of dollars for their expertise, financially accountable for their mistakes.

George Caracciolo

Schoolhouse Hill Road, Newtown                        November 10, 2008