The Board of Finance held a regular meeting on Thursday, March 27, 2008 in the Senior Center, 14 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook, CT. Chairman John Kortze called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Upon motion of Mr. Waterbury, the meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. to relocate to Sandy Hook School. Mr. Kortze opened the meeting at 7:43 p.m. at Sandy Hook School.
PRESENT: John Kortze, James Gaston, Martin Gersten, Joseph Kearney, Michael Portnoy. ABSENT: Harrison Waterbury.
ALSO PRESENT: Financial Director Ben Spragg, Schools Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Linda Gejda, Schools Director of Business Ron Bienkowski, members of the Board of Education, approximately four hundred members of public, three members of press.
Mr. Kortze noted that he had moved the meeting location from Town Hall South to the Senior Center and that he was not aware that the meeting had been moved to Sandy Hook School until 4:30 p.m. today. He noted that the Board of Finance had received many emails and he thanked everyone for their time and effort.
VOTER PARTICIPATION.
Heidi Brisson, 5 Hemlock Road, supports the High School expansion as is going to referendum on April 22. She said that three issues were discussed at the Boar of Education meeting last Monday: 1) Concerning the Portland issue, Newtown will not have to repay the State regardless of the actual enrollment over the period; 2) concerning enrollment figures, there is a difference of 170 students between Bothwell and Prowda; the ideal capacity is 85% and we will be at 92.1% in two years; 3) two Board of Ed members proposed cutting $2 million from the project but the Board of Ed voted to move the project forward as is.
Debbie Leidlein, 29 Littlebrook Lane, supports the High School expansion. She is concerned that her children will not go to an accredited High School. What will the High School be overcrowded to if we do not build.
Dan Cormanik, Great Ring Road, moved here because Newtown schools were better. The percentage of residents without children in the schools is 66%. There are 100 houses in foreclosure in Newtown. We put the cart before the horse. Spend $50,000-500,000 for design, not $2 million. Forty-one million for 400 kids is $102,000 per student.
Carol Brown, 48 Marlin Road, thanks the Board of Finance for their service. She supports the High School expansion. Respect the children, the community and the process. Do not quibble over numbers when you are talking about the children for all of their lives. If you have to cut anything, cut the Town Hall or make it smaller. Lead the town forward not backwards.
Lorraine Santore, 6 Buck Trail, moved to Newtown because of the schools even though her taxes doubles.
Jeff Blivin, 22 Equestrian Ridge, moved here for the education. Property values will go down if the schools go down.
Skip Bisset, 11 Miya Lane, said overcrowding is a problem; he moved here for the schools which are an enduring investment.
Kathleen Kent, 3 Westview Terrace, is a student at the High School. The expansion will alleviate crowding. Students and teachers are bumped from classes.
Deborah Zukowski, 4 Cornfield Ridge, said that what should matter is whether Newtown will be able to give a quality education. The State will be increasing its requirements.
Katy Condon, 3 Brandywine Lane, recently graduated from the High School. The crowding is insane.
Eric Brinder, 14 Farm Field Ridge Road, is appalled that you will consider denying moving this project forward.
Honey Hilton, 2 Sealand Drive, said that her son could not get into a math CPA class because of no space. Her other son is in the seventh grade which is the biggest bubble.
Maria Howvath, 220 South Main Street, said that her son may not be able to be in the classes that he needs for architecture. In Hungary education was important and the country was excellent in math and physics. An Applied Science course was cancelled last year but 18 students wanted to attend. Her son had to go to another high school to finish a project this year.
Aly Corbitt, 2 Covered Bridge Road, is a student at the High School. AP classes will probably be cancelled if the expansion does not happen. She wants her siblings to have the same opportunities that she had.
Mary Ann Jacob, 65 Mohawk Trail, said that the High School needs to be expanded but there are questions about the size. Discussions must consider costs that would be incurred if the expansion is put off and we get a smaller building that the architect said would cost $1.9 million more to build next year. Pass the budget on to the Legislative Council so that the voters can decide on April 22.
Heather Green, 44 Alpine Circle, moved here for the blue ribbon school but is shocked now. Approve this expansion so that our property values will not go down.
Bill Furrier, 9 Erin Lane, is Chairman of the Public Building and Site Commission and was a member of the High School Space Needs Committee. If we miss the 6/30 deadline the cost will be more like $4-6 million. Redesign fees would be about $1 million. Escalation costs would be 15% next year. We would get less school for more money. Pass this project.
Desiree Gallassie, 151 Huntingtown Road, is the Middle Gate PTA President. She said we have looked at this project for over 2 ½ years. She sent Selectman Mangiafico 17 questions which he has not answered, including does he understand the timeline. Title I children are just as deserving as those who go to private schools. Projections ten years ago were wrong and we cannot afford to make the same mistake.
Stacie Doyle, 16 Clapboard Ridge, said that the Board of Finance approved the CIP with this project and the costs have not changed since then. Even with no growth the High School will continue to be overcrowded into the 2014-15 school year. Go to referendum so construction can begin this summer.
Diane Sarna, 27 Surrey Trail, is a teacher at the High School, said there are no enough rooms. There can be no field trips or teacher workshops for the rest of the year.
Ruby Johnson, 16 Chestnut Hill Road, said that the census date indicates at 49% growth rate in the country in the next 29 years. We must do a better job of planning. Start planning for 2020.
Gianine Crowell, 20 Canterbury Lane, said the project was scaled back from $47.9 million to $42.5 million. The economy is in a downward cycle. The expansion would cost each homeowner 58 cent per day after the first year.
Ben Roberts, 19 Farrell Road, asked what the impasse is about; it is about scaling back 5%? We cannot miss this deadline. Give the benefit of the doubt to those who put this together; act in good faith. We can afford this High School. There are $13 million in excess reserves in the Town. The Legislative Council can make cuts in other areas that are not as important as this. Explore tax relief for seniors. Move this project forward.
Eric Chank0o, 20 Canterbury Lane, said approve the funding for the High School expansion and give us the opportunity to vote on it. This expansion may make people move to Newtown. People are entitled to an excellent education.
Brendon Martin, 13 Longview Heights, said it is a disadvantage to those students applying to colleges who come from an unaccredited high school. This expansion needs to go through because of the warning status.
Po Murray, 38 Charter Ridge Drive, is speaking as a citizen not as a member of the Legislative Council. She believes that this High School expansion is the most critical project for this town. She advocated for a new high school at Fairfield Hills and encouraged the Town to move the new Town Hall to the Middle School. A few town leaders are trying to derail the project. Finger pointing by officials will not solve the issues. Focus on vetting the Town Hall project. Critical to pass the High School expansion this year. Allow the voters to decide.
Mr. Kortze noted that this Board approved the High School project as is as well as the Hawley HVAC project. He said that the Charter has no chronological order for the Boards to consider a special appropriation and that this is the first time that the Board of Finance has seen this special appropriation and it will be on the Legislative Council’s agenda next Wednesday April 2. The action by the Board of Selectmen was earlier than normal. The First Selectman was trying to facilitate the process. We could not put it on the Board of Finance agenda sooner because we did not have the special appropriation but it was on the Board of Finance’s agenda twenty minutes after a letter was received from the Board of Education. He also noted that the Board of Selectmen have the sole authority to encumber debt for the Town.
Mr. Kortze said that though the Board of Finance would pose to the Board of Education the questions that were raised by Selectmen Rosenthal and Mangiafico.
As to why the Board of Education used the enrollment projections that it did, Board of Education Vice-Chairman Lisa Schwartz said that the projections were estimates and the difference between the two opinion’s are about kids who are not even born. We have to come to terms with this philosophically. Mr. Kortze noted that the new numbers are lower than what we are planning for and why use the figure 2022? Mrs. Schwartz said that last year Mr. Mangiafico said it was not wise to build to the lower number. Mr. Kortze asked if it was the Board of Education’s position to build to 2022 despite new numbers. Mrs. McClure said that the Board of Finance and Legislative Council agreed to 2022 and that the Board of Education still supports that number. Also we will not change next year if there is a new
number.
Mr. Gaston asked why the Board of Education is taking the high number as opposed to the mid number; are these numbers in the land of speculation? He said that the numbers are not reliable. He said that there is not a bubble but an upward trend.
Mr. Gersten feels that the Board of Selectmen rather than the Board of Finance should be answering these questions. He asked the Board of Ed if they ignored the new number and continued to use 2022. Dr. Robinson said that we are at 107% capacity and 85% is essential. Inappropriate spaces are being used. Mr. Waterbury feels that the number 2022 is more appropriate for 85% and Dr. Robinson agrees.
Mr. Portnoy said that the State criteria is 173.5 square feet per student for building a school and asked if the State considers 85%. Dr. Robinson said that these figures are thirty years old and children move around and are bigger. She said that schools are overbuilt because these numbers are thirty years old. Mr. Portnoy said that we might have 500-800 fewer students in ten years according to Prowda and Bothwell. Won’t there be excess capacity? Dr. Robinson does not see a decline but a plateau at the elementary level.
Mr. Kortze feels that 85% should be vetted to the Board of Selectmen.
Concerning the Portland issue, Mr. Bienkowski said that the Board of Education feels that this is not an issue (Attachment to original minutes). He had indicated to the State that the Board of Education had new figures from Prowda and Bothwell.
Mr. Mangiafico had questioned the increase in the annual costs from $671,000 to $2 million. Dr. Robinson said the $2 million included personnel which she feels is in the operating budget. Mr. Kortze asked why staffing is different. Mr. Bienkowski said that the $2 million included $770,000 of operational costs. He said that some of the staff has been hired for the High School over the last year and other positions are desirable but were removed because the budget could not support the figures. This was a best guess estimate. Dr. Robinson said that population determines staff. Mr. Gersten asked if we have staff that are not teaching students now. He said that this information was not available to the Board of Finance. Mr. Kortze said that on December 27, 2007, the Board of Finance received the $671,000 figures. Mr.
Portnoy said that 7.2 of the 9.8 teachers have already been hired which means that only 2.6 are needed for 20 more classrooms. Dr. Robinson said that these teachers do not have classrooms and that there are several multiple level classrooms. We will lose four portables and one classroom will be for the nurses. Mr. Portnoy said it makes no sense to have only 2.6 students for 300 more students. Dr. Robinson said that teachers will be driven by the classes. Mr. Gersten asked if these teachers are underutilized to which Dr. Robinson said that they teach multiple classes.
As to why the Board of Education is renovating the gym when the Newtown Youth Academy at Fairfield Hills will accommodate the High School needs, Mr. Costa of Fletcher-Thompson said that the height now is 20 feet, or only 18 with the ductwork. The roof would be raised with curving in the middle to accommodate volleyball and basketball. Ed Barrett of Morganti said the gym will cost $3.5 million. As to the question about the culinary size and addition, Mr. Costa said that the first room would be a demonstration room and the second room would have 24 cooking stations.
Resident Diane Goodrich commented that the girls volleyball team cannot have a tournament in the High School gym. She said also that the culinary area is too small.
As to the question about the green roof, Mr. Barrett said the size would be 1,200 square feet, it would cost $70,000 and it is a bid alternate.
Mr. Gersten asked why the overruns were known to the Board of Education in February but were not made available to the Board of Finance for its March 3 meeting. Mr. Bienkowski said that the figures were presented at a joint Board of Education and Public Building and Site Commission meeting to get an estimate to the State and we probably should have sent them to you. Mr. Kortze noted that this is not abnormal for such a process.
Mr. Bienkowski said that we only need to borrow $26,544,000 but we must appropriate the total.
NEW BUSINESS.
RESOLVED: That the resolution entitled “Resolution Providing For A Special Appropriation In The Amount Of $38,826,000 For The Planning And Construction Of Additions And Renovations At Newtown High School And Authorizing The Issuance Of $38,826,000 Bonds Of The Town To Meet Said Special Appropriation And Pending The Issuance Thereof The Making Of Temporary Borrowings For Such Purpose”, a copy of which is attached hereto, is hereby adopted and recommended to the Legislative Council for consideration and action, said special appropriation was requested in a letter
dated March 26, 2008 from Janet M. Robinson, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools in accordance with Chapter 6, Section 6-30 (a)(b) & (c) of the Town Charter, a copy of which is attached hereto.
Mr. Gaston moved to waive the reading of the entire resolution, second by Mr. Kearney and unanimously carried. Mr. Gaston moved Resolution Providing For A Special Appropriation In The Amount Of $38,826,000 For The Planning And Construction Of Additions And Renovations At Newtown High School And Authorizing The Issuance Of $38,826,000 Bonds Of The Town To Meet Said Special Appropriation And Pending The Issuance Thereof The Making Of Temporary Borrowings For Such Purpose. Second by Mr. Kearney.
Mr. Gersten moved to reduce the amount of the special appropriation to $33,000,000. Second by Mr. Portnoy. Mr. Gersten said that while we all recognize the need for expansion, the size is the question. Sixty-six percent of the voters do not have children in the school system. We need this to pass. Our bond rating could be lowered if we have multiple referenda and $38 million may be difficult to adopt. He feels we could make this reduction with $3 million for the gym, $1.7 million for astro turf and $600,000 from culinary. All without losing a classroom.
Mr. Gaston feels that this would kill the project. There are people who do not have students in the High School who will use the athletic facilities. People will support athletics. He will not support this.
Mr. Costa said that any adjustment to the building itself would be very difficult to change as we are within two weeks of getting our State review. We would have to start the process again. Mr. Waterbury noted then that any amount would cause us to redo this except for the bid alternates.
Mr. Kearney asked Mr. Costa if the Town owns the construction documents; Mr. Costa is not sure. Mr. Bienkowski believes that the architect, Fletcher-Thompson, owns the documents.
Amendment failed 2-4 by roll call vote YES 2 (Gersten, Portnoy). NO 4 (Kearney, Waterbury, Gaston, Kortze).
Main motion passed 4-2 by roll call vote. YES 4 (Kearney, Waterbury, Gaston, Kortze.) NO 2 (Portnoy, Gersten).
Transfer.
Mr. Gaston moved to transfer from Account 01570-2000 Contingency $30,000 to Account 1105-2013 Capital & Non-Recurring $30,000, for Alliance for Sensible Airspace Planning, initial buy in on legal. Second by Mr. Kearney and unanimously carried.
ADJOURNMENT Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:10 p.m.
Ann M. Mazur, Clerk
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