School improvements are on the horizon

It is generally tough to find people who are willing and able to volunteer in most small towns these days (though Cornwall recently had more volunteers than they expected for two town leadership positions, a happy problem). For the local and regional boards of education, the challenges of finding dedicated members are particularly daunting. The needs of parents, teachers, administrators and of course, especially, the children all must be carefully considered by these boards. Those needs are not easily defined, much less met. Yet people are still filling the positions on these boards, and for that they should be thanked.

During the Great Recession, budgets for the schools were tight, keeping the most important priorities addressed, but not necessarily those problems that could be delayed, such as some building maintenance. There comes a point, however, and it appears to be here, where the environment of the schools must be analyzed and upgrades or even critical repairs need to be planned. 

Several schools at once

Right now, Sharon Center School and Salisbury Central School have contracted surveys of their plants, and Kent Center School is considering doing the same, from a Berlin, Conn., firm, Jacunski Humes Architects. Such surveys don’t come cheap, but they can be helpful in giving school boards justification and direction for their proposals for renovations to their schools. Housatonic Valley Regional High School has its proposed renovations ready for the May referendum vote. Kent Center School’s Board of Education now has a newly re-formed building committee that is considering its options, as are the other elementary school boards.

This flurry of activity around the building needs of Region One’s schools has brought up questions on the structure of financial and practical decision-making for such projects. After all, the current board of selectmen, board of finance and board of education members have a range of experience with former construction projects, depending on their length of service and time in town. There are some former members of the boards who have come forward to offer advice based on what happened while they were serving in similar situations. But the world has changed, and so have the needs of the schools. The discussion of guns in the hands of school leaders that came up in Kent, for instance, illuminates the difference between what schools were like even 20 years ago, and what they must be like now in order to satisfy and ensure the safety of all those who gather inside them every day. 

So the boards need to come together and communicate openly to better understand their roles in planning these large projects. They are all responsible to their communities for the success or failure of the work that is finally done to improve their schools. It is not easy for volunteers, such as those on the school boards, to feel sure that they are acting correctly on the wishes of their town residents and still best meeting the needs of students and educators. They can use their fellow citizens’ support.

Start keeping track now

If anyone in these towns believes they have knowledge that would benefit and inform the discussion, now is the time to come forward and attend the open meetings that are happening on a regular basis. The agendas for the meetings of these boards of education, boards of finance and boards of selectmen are always posted at town halls and online, at least 24 hours before they are happening. This newspaper publishes the timing of the meetings the week before they are scheduled, and they should also be listed on the towns’ websites. 

Exercise your right and responsibility to be involved with the way your taxpayer money is spent by listening to these discussions and making your opinions known as decisions are made. If you can’t make the meetings, keep track of them in this newspaper and through other local media. Those who are planning these projects need all the help they can get to manage your money while trying to do their best to improve the centers of education in our communities.