Comments (
Printable Version
FontCiting the current economy, the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night voted to cut $2 million in funding from the Fairfield Woods Middle School project, which is estimated to cost $24.3 million.
Before that vote was taken, First Selectman Ken Flatto provided a breakdown of all the work that is planned. He suggested, and received support from Selectman Sherri Steeneck, cutting $2 million from a combination of four areas that had totaled roughly $14 million: code upgrades and minor renovations; cafeteria/kitchen addition/renovations; nurse/library renovations; and new classroom additions and associated work. It was decided other aspects of the project, including the auditorium, would not be bonded earlier than January 2012. The auditorium work alone would have totaled more than $6 million.
"I have been trying to support this [Fairfield Woods] project," Flatto stated before the vote. "We have got to make some compromises."
The board wound up eliminating the gymnasium from the work to be bonded in the future. That had a price tag of $2,484,000.
Some Board of Education (BOE) members later expressed disappointment that Flatto gave a presentation, mid-way through the meeting, using school population numbers that they claim he came up with on his own. The presentation, among other things, included recommending reducing capacity for Fairfield Woods, which was determined by educational specifications, and increasing capacity at Tomlinson Middle School, and more specifically Roger Ludlowe Middle School, as it is the biggest of the three middle schools, according to Flatto.
Flatto told the Fairfield Citizen Thursday afternoon: "If the board does not revise this, I predict parents will be upset when the BOE tries to move thousands of students and redistrict, and Roger Ludlowe, a bigger school, has the same number of students. I'm trying to fix what I think will be a problem down the road."
Board of Education member Perry Liu, who is also a liaison to the Fairfield Woods School Building Committee, said Flatto basically ignored nearly two years of work by the building committee, as well as the Fairfield Woods Middle School Feasibility Committee, whose members Flatto appointed.
"He doesn't like the way the numbers are coming out, so he put in his own numbers," Liu said. He called that "poor leadership."
Board of Selectmen member Ralph Bowley was the lone member of the board who didn't support the $2 million cut.
"I hate these last-minute surprises," Bowley said.
Bowley said he thought the building committee did a pretty good job and delivered "pretty much what we asked for in March or April of last year."
Directly following the meeting, Board of Education member Tim Kery handed the Fairfield Citizen a piece of paper with his thoughts.
"Our first selectman fancies himself an architect, education expert and statistician. He is none of the above," Kery said. "It is not appropriate for the first selectman to try and undo two years of work by the former BOE, the middle school space committee, the building committee and the professional architects that have correctly designed the building project to the education specifications."
He added, "There is a separation of powers in our town. The Board of Education is the only body charged with oversight of the ed. specs and it is no more appropriate for the first selectman to dictate what the educational specifications or curriculum should be than it would be for the Board of Education to comment on how the pension fund should be managed."
Flatto responded, "The public and town officials and board members try to tell me what to do all the time, and I respect their right to give me their opinion, and I would hope and expect that the BOE respects my right to voice my opinions. And further, I am an ex-oficio member of the board, so I have every right to do this, whether they like it or not."
BOE Chairman Sue Brand, during Wednesday evening's meeting, said that the Fairfield Woods Middle School project is all about timing, all about need and all about the community.
"In 2012--13 we will be short 377 middle school seats," she said. "The need and urgency were validated by the Middle School Space Feasibility Committee findings. This committee reviewed all middle school space. The committee's findings were that FWMS is the best site for an addition/renovation and that an 815 capacity will be needed at FWMS. The BOE projected 840, and that FWMS is the best site for an addition/renovation."
She added that the BOE made the FWMS project the top priority and deferred $6 million in recommended facility work.
"Questions have risen about the need, time and appropriate use of space," Brand said. "The BOE and the building committee rely on professionals for projections, architectural plans, project estimates and educational needs.
"The middle school program is not new. It has been in place since the 1970s. This proposal meets the full needs of the middle school program. The Board of Education is committed to a quality middle school program for all Fairfield students."
Kery's quotes for the paper noted that Flatto would better serve the community by spending less time trying to find ways not to do this project but instead "invest his time in solving the space problem."
Brand said she was disappointed by the $2 million cut.
"We'll see what the next town body wants to do with it," she said. The funding approved by the BOS Wednesday night still has to be reviewed by the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting.
