BOS members just say no to state plan to combine schools

CORNWALL — The Board of Selectmen went on record at its March 20 meeting that it is against any plans by the state regarding school regionalization.The goal of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s massive education reform bill is to save money by forcing school districts with less than 1,000 students to either regionalize or be penalized. “All the area selectmen are against the governor’s plan to penalize Region One for being small,” First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said. “The main issue for us is that if we had to consolidate schools, it would put kids on the school bus for a very long time.”The six towns in the Region One School District are Cornwall, Kent, North Canaan, Falls Village, Sharon and Salisbury. Each has its own elementary school but the towns share Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village. Region One, as its name implies, was the first regional school district in the state. It was created in 1937. Prior to that, each town had its own small high school.A similar discussion was held at a Board of Education meeting earlier in the day, where Region One Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain spoke of the various ways current regionalization could change in the unique Region One district. Region One is actually made up of seven districts. The elementary schools in the six towns are autonomous, with their own school boards and budgets; they share the services of the high school, pupil services (special education) and the office of the superintendent. A possible scenario under the governor’s plan is one district and one school board to oversee all of the schools, with several of the elementary schools being combined. Transportation was a main concern of school board members. Some students are already on the bus for as long as 45 minutes just to get from their Cornwall homes to Cornwall Consolidated School — and that’s when road conditions are good. Chamberlain also noted that there are costs associated with closing a school, even temporarily.“You can’t just close the doors and not have any bills to pay,” she said.Cornwall resident Florence Budge wrote an impassioned email to the selectmen. As a former Region One teacher, Board of Education member and parent of local students, who now teaches in Danbury, she had insight.Budge advocates for giving up state grant money — and the strings attached for schools — and says the district should rely instead on the efforts of inspiring teachers and on community resources to enhance learning. “The governor should take the time to investigate something he knows nothing about and leave the local education to the people who care most about it, local townsmen,” Budge wrote, adding that she will be “campaigning fiercely” to get Malloy out of office.State Sen. Andrew Roraback (R-30) and state Rep. Roberta Willis (D-64) are working to defeat the proposed bill.