Lawsuit would be bad for Winsted

This week’s public announcement that the Winchester Board of Education is threatening to sue the Board of Selectmen for underfunding the school system is yet another example of poor judgment by town and school officials, who have again been reduced to unproductive political squabblers rather than people who are working together to improve the town.The decision by the Board of Education, supported by Chairman Kathleen O’Brien and Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno, follows an extended controversy during the 2009-10 school year, in which the school system’s fiscal situation was unclear and selectmen grew increasingly impatient with the school board.Ultimately, the Board of Selectmen called for the resignation of O’Brien and Salerno — a foolish move, considering they had no legal authority to do so. O’Brien and Salerno ignored the selectmen and have since not had a very good relationship with the board.Members of Board of Selectmen also threatened to sue members of the school board last year for money overspent in the 2009-10 budget. Thankfully, such a lawsuit never came to fruition, but the idea has obviously left some feathers ruffled.Skip ahead to this year and, after the school board approved a $21.4 million spending package, selectmen brought out the hatchet, slashing $2.8 million from the proposal, leaving the school system with $18.6 million for the coming year. Members of the school board, crying foul, say the Board of Selectmen is reducing the school budget to less than its state-mandated minimum budget requirement (MBR).So now it is the Board of Education that wants to sue the Board of Selectmen. The Board of Education has yet to specify damages in its lawsuit, which would only cost the town more money while further stifling communications between town boards. While the Board of Selectmen’s cut may may be extreme and even mean-spirited, school board members can take some of the blame for the poor flow of information between the two boards. Almost every time the Board of Selectmen has asked for information about the budget, the school board has dragged its feet, offering incomplete and incorrect information. School board members may have their own reasons for being angry at selectmen, but being angry should not be good enough to file this civil suit.Members of both boards have behaved foolishly in their ongoing blame game, and adding a lawsuit to this volatile mix will only cause more damage to the town. Town and school officials must now make every effort to save themselves the stinging embarrassment and expense that will come with arguing in court.

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