Board of Selectmen ineffective, offensive

On several occasions recently, members of the town’s Board of Selectmen have been notified by state officials that Winchester is out of compliance with the minimum budget requirement (MBR) for funding the town’s schools for the 2011-12 school year. And with each passing day, selectmen seem to be finding more ways to ignore the problem while fighting among themselves.Last week, the board’s performance hit another low, as members voted to issue a useless press release declaring that they disagree with both the state and the town’s new superintendent of schools, Tom Danehy, who has stated publicly that he believes the school district has been underfunded and is out of compliance with the MBR. Selectmen and voters approved a budget this year that sets school funding at $18.6 million, or $1,449,466 less than the MBR. Last week, Acting Commissioner of Education George Coleman issued an unambiguous letter to the town, saying the state expects Winchester to meet its MBR for Winchester schools.Town residents should take a moment to note that in one of his first decisions as superintendent, Danehy has wisely chosen to have the state on his side, while members of the Board of Selectmen have chosen to be in conflict with state officials. If you want to keep score, this is a good place to start.Still, the Board of Selectmen’s bickering and lack of effective governing continued last week, underscored by an outburst by Republican Selectman Ken Fracasso, who began shouting at Democratic Mayor Candy Perez. Fracasso suggested that Perez shouldn’t be allowed to be on the Board of Selectmen because she is the principal at Northwestern Regional Middle School and that the position somehow clouds her decision-making ability. The suggestion is about as inane as saying Fracasso should recuse himself from transportation issues because of his history in the trucking industry.Fracasso topped off his tirade by swearing at the mayor, which was completely out of line and offensive for the public forum. The Winsted Journal recorded an audio file of the exchange.It wasn’t the first time Fracasso had chosen to pick on Mayor Perez, exploiting the fact that he is bigger and louder than she is and evoking the spirit of out-of-style male chauvinism. Fracasso bellows and shouts over the relatively soft-spoken mayor, coming across as a bully and, ironically, like something short of a confident man. It is his constant, argumentative tone that suggests he can’t resist bringing his personal issues to board meetings. It is also his repeated pontificating and condescension that has exacerbated communication problems with the town’s Board of Education.Members of the rest of the board generally sit by like puppets and bobbleheads while Fracasso goes off on his unprofessional rants. His new partner in crime has been alleged Democrat Lisa Smith, who has abandoned fellow party members to join in the rhetoric, self-servingly suggesting that the town’s fiscal problems are all the fault of the Board of Education. When all of the immature arguing is over, Winchester residents can be assured of one thing: The town will still be in very treacherous financial straits, which are being navigated by an ineffective Board of Selectmen. Expect the board to fail in its futile challenge of the MBR and to see a supplemental tax bill or some other scheme to make up the shortfall between now and the end of the school year.