Long-range plan for Region 12 Editorial Opinion

6/20/13 


Published 12:39 am, Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Efforts to create a workable long-range facilities plan for the Region 12 school district have hit a significant snag.

The resignation last week of 17 Bridgewater residents from the Long-Range Planning Group over myriad concerns dramatically affects the process and raises questions about the future of the district.

We are hopeful Superintendent of Schools Pat Cosentino, the Board of Education and the remaining members of the LRPG will respond sufficiently to those concerns so the "Bridgewater 17" will return to the table and a game plan can be agreed upon.

All three towns in Region 12 -- Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury -- are experiencing significant declines in student enrollment, and a solution is needed that balances fiscal realities, quality of education and quality of life in the towns.

Acrimony and strong disagreement are not new in Region 12 when it comes to school facilities. Almost since the formation of the region over four decades ago, there has been ongoing debate over the issue of a consolidated elementary school vs. local elementary schools.

Officials and residents in Washington -- which as the largest town hosts Shepaug Middle High School and also has its own K-5 school, Washington Primary -- have long favored a consolidated elementary school within its borders.

Neighboring Roxbury has generally supported retaining its own elementary school, Booth Free School, while Bridgewater -- located further away from Washington -- has adamantly opposed closing its Burnham School.

To be sure, Bridgewater and Roxbury residents make some compelling arguments.
Most parents prefer to have their young children schooled close to home, not several miles and up to an hour's bus ride away. Burnham and Booth Free also serve as community hubs, as folks of all ages use them for various purposes.

There are also concerns about the potential drop in real estate values if Bridgewater and Roxbury were to become the only two towns in Connecticut without their own elementary schools.

And in similar fashion, there are worries that if the local schools were closed, those two towns would become retirement communities without young families and the younger adults who add vitality to a town and serve as volunteer firemen and emergency services personnel.

In an effort to keep their schools open, Bridgewater and Roxbury have proposed combining forces, with K-2 students from both towns going to Booth Free and 3-5 to Burnham.

The thrust of the district's long-range planning to date, however, has focused on multiple plans that would consolidate grades K-12 at the South Street campus in Washington.

That focus -- and putting retention of Burnham and Booth Free on the back burner -- ultimately led to the resignation of the Bridgewater 17, along with their contention there are "consistent misstatements (and) inaccuracies" being presented in a "clearly biased process."

We regret the breakdown in the process, but we believe the residents of the two smaller towns deserve a fair chance to preserve their local schools and, as they view it, their way of life.

We are pleased Cosentino has expressed a desire for the Bridgewater 17 to remain involved, and that at least some of them plan to continue to attend meetings.

It is worth keeping in mind, because of a 2009 state Supreme Court ruling in favor of Bridgewater over Region 12, each of the three towns in the district must approve any change in the regionalization plan.

In effect, that gives Bridgewater (or Roxbury) veto authority over any new plan, which makes it essential that the interests of the two smaller towns are given full and fair consideration and that all towns are integrally involved in the process.