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08/01/2023 09:49 AMIt was a packed house at a July 24 special town meeting regarding cost overruns for the new school construction project. The public forum and vote were held in response to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Board of Finance (BOF) approvals of the funding allocation; however, residents voted down the measure to appropriate another $2.4 million that officials claim is required to construct four additional classrooms at the new elementary school.
The appropriation process mandates a town meeting, according to the town charter.
Specifically, the meeting focused on whether there would be a resolution “To make a special appropriation of $2,400,000 from the Town’s unassigned fund balance for the construction of additional classrooms at the new Pre-Kindergarten Grade 5 school on Mungertown Road (the “Project”),” whether, “To authorize the first selectman to execute agreements and other documents on behalf of the Town for the project; and to authorize the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, Director of Finance and other Town officials and employees to take all actions necessary and proper to carry out the project; and…To authorize the first selectman to apply for and accept or reject grants-in-aid for the project.”
In essence, officials wanted to shift monies from the Polson School renovation to the new elementary school, which education officials now deem necessary to manage a projected uptick in the student body.
The vote tally was decidedly opposed to shifting the funds to accommodate the revised classroom plan, with 215 voters rejecting the request and only 56 voting in favor. The second question, authorizing the first selectman to take all actions necessary to carry out the project, was also rejected by a wide margin, 202-69. The third question, which would have authorized the first selectman to apply for and accept or reject grants for the project, was also rejected by a narrower 160-110 margin.
As the approval for the original project was determined via referendum in 2022, a vote by residents was mandatory in order to reallocate funds from one project to the other, according to officials. Residents spoke passionately at the meeting. However, much of the discussion branched out into aspects of the new school project that were not on the table for a vote.
First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons said she was disappointed that the measure wasn’t adopted by voters but remained hopeful that the funding for the proposed classroom revisions could still be allocated via alternate means.
“Part of the appropriation approval process is a town meeting, and so our board unanimously felt this was a worthy appropriation and should go to town meeting. It is always good to see voters engaged, and hopefully, they walked away at least understanding more about what the board was proposing,” Lyons said. “I think we need to figure out our next steps. Clearly, the new school is going to happen. Now we’ll just have to step back and explore our options. The school building committee can continue to go out to bid for the project and hope that it comes in under budget and that it can be covered by their existing budget. Or, there are other ways that we can look at this in terms of making sure there is enough funding to get this project done.”
Lyons questioned the usefulness of another referendum but did not rule it out as an option.
“I don’t think that we would go out to referendum unless we actually had the final budget numbers because we are dealing in a high amount of uncertainty right now. We are in a high-inflation environment that is very unpredictable. The last thing we want to do is to go out to referendum and then have other numbers come in again. That process also takes time. It has to go through the boards and schedule a referendum; it’s a lengthy process. It’s a moving target, but that’s not to say that won’t be an option later. If the current plan still cannot get the appropriate funding, then I think the goal right now is to figure out how to move forward and stay within the funding that was approved by the taxpayers,” Lyons said.
BOS member Bruce Wilson said overall, he was pleased that residents could have a direct say in the decision and participate in such an important fiscal issue. According to Wilson, the choice now is simply whether to axe the proposed classroom additions or send the matter to another referendum in November, which he said would not significantly delay the project.
“We heard a lot of different voices last night; they were overwhelming in the comments against the $2.4 million appropriation. I think we’re going to have to take a moment and try to better understand what the vote represents, and then, of course, we have to plot a new path forward. I’ll be anxious to hear what our bond council and what our district school district thinks,” said Wilson. “But as I see it…we can drop the four classrooms and just move forward with the original plan, or we can look for an opportunity to hold a town-wide referendum.”
Wilson said the board would have to seek a solution but that it is essentially an “either-or” choice.
“I see it as either we move forward without the four classrooms or work toward a town-wide referendum. We [the BOS] will again recommend that that $2.4 million come out of the excess fund balance,” Wilson said.
According to Wilson, in terms of the bigger picture, he was pleased that residents are so engaged in their civic duties.
“Last night, at its core, was a win for our town meeting form of government. We, as we should, and by charter, we took that question to taxpayers, and the taxpayers said no,” said Wilson. “That’s not a bad thing. I think it’s important that the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance stay in tune with what the taxpayers want. (W)e are not a representative form of government, the taxpayers are the legislative body, and it’s perfectly okay for them to say, ‘No, we don’t like this.’ It complicates the process, sure, but that’s okay. It was a great town meeting, I think. It’s not always the most efficient way to get things done, but usually, it allows us the opportunity to get it right, and I think last night is an example of that.”
Lyons said she also wanted to clarify some audience members’ comments regarding the BOS’ actions on the matter. While the meeting was specifically focused on a yay or nay vote, some of the comments were accusations that the BOF and BOS were obfuscating the appropriation details and were engaged in a “sleight of hand” regarding the matter.
“I had concerns about people’s perception that we were not being transparent about the funding plan. That is not accurate at all. Every step we were taking to come up with a way to provide the budget the new school needed was done in a very transparent way and done through multiple public meetings. It was all things we were authorized to do,” said Lyons. “The board followed all the appropriate processes. These were all part of many public discussions and on the record. We are trying to provide a responsible budget that would go out to bid. There is nothing that we’re hiding. This was all done in with very public forums, over multiple meetings, starting in February.”
According to Lyons, the next steps will be board and committee collaborations on a resolution.
“We have to weigh a lot of those things, have a conversation with the school committee and the Board of Ed[ucation], and then make a final determination about the next step, and I don’t think we’re there yet. A lot of time and effort went into the plan that was presented. It was fiscally sound, and we thought it was the most cost-effective solution to deliver the project to the people. Unfortunately, the people who attended the meeting didn’t feel that way, but we’ll just have to regroup and figure out what’s next,” Lyons said.