Friday, September 20, 2013

Vote should be postponed

New Milford Spectrum
Friday, September 20, 2013

To the Editor:
After the Sept. 16 meeting of the Region 12 Board of Education, it is clear Region 12 will not be ready to have a referendum in November.
Since the board has not yet settled on the repairs to the existing Shepaug building, it is very unlikely a referendum will be ready for the public in time.
They must finalize the repairs list, have a district meeting and then have town meetings to educate the public on their proposal.
There is just not enough time in the seven weeks left until the municipal elections in November.
Issues regarding the septic system, the site improvements, fire sprinkling for the building and wheelchair lifts for tiered classrooms have not been resolved.
Estimates for pool repairs and selective site improvements do not not have appropriate costs for contingencies, contractor overhead/profit and price escalation.
Selecting minimum repairs to the Shepaug building and selling this as a long-term plan is inconsistent.
There is also an issue regarding the objectivity of the evaluation of tuition-out alternative.
Resolving these things will take time. It would seem reasonable to delay the referendum until some time in 2014.
Bridgewater

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