Letter- WPS Build to Suit Proposal (Page Down)

Letter to the Editor-Washinton Proposal- Build to Suit February 27, 2007

Why have Washington residents allowed the small group of consolidators to present the “failed” SLAM proposal from April 2006 as their “Build to Suit Proposal” for the Town of Washington? This build to suit plan for WPS proposes using the GYM as a cafeteria to get bigger classrooms for all grades. The cafeteria becomes classrooms and the kitchen is moved to the boy’s locker room. The Bond cost to Washington was $14 million for this proposal, after adding the amounts for the Burnham and Booth schools. The voters overwhelmingly rejected this plan. Why not a build to suit plan that is reasonable with a lower cost? Certainly, there must be a better proposal for Washington voters.

A realistic Build to Suit Plan for the WPS School in District 12 renovates the current classrooms in place. The cafeteria gets renovated and stays where it is. The gym is not used as a multipurpose room. The gym and locker rooms continue to be used for middle school athletics. This proposal has an expanded lobby with a canopy over the bus drop off.
The Budget amount of $7,200,000 can be detailed by using a Construction Pricing Specialist to make sure this goal can be accomplished. This proposal was formulated using the SLAM methodology and estimating factors from last year. The same approach was used to initiate the build to suit efforts Roxbury and Bridgewater. The floor plan drawing for a more expensive proposal that includes a new kindergarten, a classroom/music room and handicapped bathroom is attached. The Slam drawing and some recent pictures are also attached.

In 2002 the BOE proceeded with renovation planning for the 3 Elementary Schools. There was a failed referendum in June of 2005. We had an informational referendum in March of 2006 that overwhelmingly showed that the Voters want 3 separate Elementary Schools, one in each Town. We have had two referendums since then as follows:

__________Total_ WPS Tot_ WPS Net_ WPS Bond
April 2006_ $39,3M_ $11,6M__ $9,3M___ $14,0M
June. 2006_ $37,4M_ $11,7M__ $9,3M___ $12,7M

Reasonable 2007 Plan ________$7,2M___ $7,2M

Renovating WPS without requiring state aid removes the need to make the old school into a brand new school. This means that more reasonable cost estimates can be used for budgeting. It also means that the renovation can proceed now, without waiting on state approval. The District should apply for state aid and continue working with our legislators in parallel with the construction process. Several school board members and the selectmen of the other towns have suggested this approach.

Build to Suit Committee Members:
Bridgewater Roxbury
Jerry Ronan Page Westervelt
Ed Wainwright Brian Krin

Rebuttal of Washington Build to Suit Proposal: Spectrum March 9, 2007

Jack Field (Consolidator) and Dick Sears (Consolidator) would like you to believe that either of the two SLAM plans could be a viable “Build to Suit Plan”. The Washington voters overwhelmingly voted both of these plans down last year. The voters obviously want a lower cost proposal that can be approved by a Washington town referendum. A referendum for the three schools using either of the SLAM plans will fail again. Washington needs a new independent group that is objective without consolidators. This group could do what is needed to provide a realistic build to suit alternative for the WPS site.

Roxbury Renderings By SLAM February 15, 2007

This is the Site In Roxbury

This is the Building Rendering.

"BOE must show better leadership"

Letter To The Editor From The Bridgewater Selectmen


February 12, 2007


To the Editor,
Last Friday evening at the Roxbury Town Hall, Mardie Ford, Jim Hirschfield, and Dave Baron from the Region 12 Board of Education and the First Selectman Barbara Henry acting as moderator, and Neil Cable and Bill Stuart, representing Bridgewater, met and agreed on a settlement of the pending litigation. We agreed to pay the $15,927.00 and withdraw the lawsuit and they agreed to review their procedures and give the Town officials an opportunity for input and we are hopeful that until such time all new purchases over $10,000 will be put out to bid.
We want to thank these people for their time on a Friday night and for their consideration and understanding of the issues.
On the other hand we regret the interference from Dick Sears, First Selectman in Washington. Mr. Sears has a short memory. He forgets the fact that Washington bagged Bridgewater for $10,000 on a pension plan obligation. He forgets the fact that 10 to 12 years ago, Bridgewater withheld $26,000 from the Region12 bill because of a wrongful practice and that the Attorney General ruled that Bridgewater was right and as a result, Washington and Roxbury were both issued refund checks.
The Town of Bridgewater has only initiated two lawsuits in the past 32 years: One in 1983 against our insurance company that we won and now this one. We are not a litigious community! However, when the School Board deliberately withholds pertinent information from our members and they fail to follow bidding procedures that most likely would have saved this region $30,000.00 it became time to expose their actions.
We, the Board of Selectmen of Bridgewater believe that our School Board should pay better attention to the manner and rules of conducting meetings, and they should understand their fiduciary responsibility to the tax payer’s money. We also believe that when you go to court and testify under oath that it should be very easy to remember the truth. We also believe that there is not fair representation on the Region 12 Board of Education. The Town of Washington only pays 44% of the Regional School’s budget, but they have 50% of the vote on the School Board. In Bridgewater, 71 cents out of every tax dollar goes to the School budget and Washington has a greater influence on how our taxes are spent then they deserve. That needs to change!
We don’t regret the lawsuit as we feel that serious attention was finally given to some serious problems.
The bottom line on all of this is that the Region 12 BOE needs new leadership. Here is just one example. Three years ago, Bill Stuart went to a school board meeting and reminded the board that the 20 year school leases only had three years until expiration. Two years ago he stood up at School Board meeting and held up a copy of the 20 year lease and told them they only had two more years left. Last summer Roxbury and Bridgewater hired attorney Fred Baker to rewrite our leases and we presented them to Irene Allen at a subcommittee meeting and it has gone nowhere. This week, four weeks before Bridgewater’s lease is up, Irene Allen writes a letter asking for a one year extension without any reference to their current legal obligations in the present lease.
The Region 12 Board of Education is responsible for a 17+ million dollar budget and this is the kind of leadership they have shown? This Region deserves better.

Sincerely,
William T. Stuart
First Selectman
860-354-5250

Neil Cable
Selectman
860-355-2519

Ed Bennett
Selectman
860-354-0050

Current Pictures Booth Free School 2/17/07

Roxbury Resident: 'Let's just fix our schools"

Roxbury resident: ‘Let’s just fix the schools… and get on with life’

In the past few years, the voters in Region 12 have been offered and turned down two options: spending tens of millions of dollars to renovate and expand our existing elementary schools, or spending a few million less to build a consolidated school.

This is not as difficult as we make it out to be. A consolidated school is a non-starter. The people in the three towns value their own schools as the centers of their communities. They aren’t giving that up.

If a consolidated school is a non-starter, why was the renovation and expansion of the existing schools defeated?

In part, because of the different circumstances in the three towns, but mostly because of money. We are willing to spend more to keep our schools, but many of us view the proposed renovations as being Taj Mahal schools.

Those of us middle- aged and older likely went to schools that were poorly heated, had no air conditioning or computer rooms, but that had class sizes upwards of 30 kids.

I would venture that the education we received in those drafty old WPA buildings was at least the equal of what our kids get. It isn’t the buildings, but the families teachers, and programs.

Yet Region 12 marches on.

The school board, apparently deaf to the wishes of the voters, spent $65,000(possibly in a manner that violated its own bidding procedures) to study a property in Roxbury for a consolidated school. Turns out that what’s not swamp there is mostly rock.

If I weren’t paying for it, I would be laughing.

And in the process, the Bridgewater members of the board were excluded from the discussion. Hello? Did anyone think that move wasn’t going to annoy Bridgewater?

In retribution, Bridgewater withheld payment of its portion for the $65,000 and filed suit. Petulant perhaps, but understandable, given that its representatives were denied a voice in the original discussions.

The current thinking is for each Town to “build to suit”; with the idea being that each town can fund its own desires.

Except not so much. The school board must approve the Town’s plans. Does anyone expect this approach to save money? I don’t.

Even at that, representatives of the three towns have to sit down together and modify the original regional agreement to allow build to suit.

But Washington now refuses to talk with Bridgewater until Bridgewater drops its suit and ponies up the money.

You can’t make this stuff up. First, let’s stop acting out a sit-com script and take a regional view. Bridgewater has to pay, and Washington has to talk to the rest of us.

Next, let’s talk about what we expect from our schools. I advocate fewer frills and sound basics, which take up less classroom space, and produces citizens like us who’ve made it far enough in life to pay taxes here in region 12.

Let’s fix the structural problems with the existing schools, use portable classrooms for Roxbury’s expected population bubble, or shift some Roxbury kids to Washington Primary or Burnham, and get on with life.

Andy Engel
Roxbury, CT

Preliminary Burnham From Above 2/15/07

Preliminary New Floor Plan Burnham 2/15/07

Preliminary Burnham Entrance 2/15/07

BURNHAM SCHOOL - Febuary 12, 2007

Edith Kinney wants original commitment honored

Former Bridgewater ed board chair provides regional background

To the editor: The Spectrum, Friday, February 9, 2007

As a longtime chairman of the Bridgewater Board of Education, I was part of the board when, in the 1960’s, it became apparent that our agreement with New Milford to send our high school students to New Milford on a tuition basis, for various reasons, was no longer an acceptable choice.
A process began at Bridgewater’s initiative to form a regional high school which initially included the Towns of Bridgewater, Bethlehem, Roxbury, Sherman, and Washington. As the process evolved, it changed to include only Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington and at the state’s encouragement, to be a K-12 region.
It quickly became apparent that, in order to get voters’ approval of a regional plan, they had to be assured that the primary schools would remain in their own towns. The promise was made and so far has been kept.
I strongly feel this commitment should be maintained. Do not build a consolidated school.
Edith Kinney
Bridgewater