The Town Council, with the support of Mayor John Harkins, unanimously rejected the Board of Education’s recommendation to build a new high school on Longbrook Park property.
The 10-to-0 vote was made at the beginning of the April 14 monthly council meeting in response to a special resolution saying that building a school at Longbrook “would not be in the best interest” of Stratford.
The Board of Education made its recommendation last Friday, April 11, at a short-notice, special meeting of the Board of Education at which parents were decrying the plan to take parkland for a new school, and an estimated 100 residents went to Longbrook Park on Sunday, April 13, to protest the Board of Ed’s recommendation. Councilmen and various town officials met with the residents at Longbrook to tell them they would vote down the idea of a school there. No Board of Education members attended the protest.
Harkins told The Star on Monday, April 14, before the council meeting that he did not support a school at Longbrook, and “I will be opposing it.”
He said, “There are a lot of unanswered questions,” there could be restrictions on the land and there are a lot of neighbors to consider. The Board of Education’s action on Longbrook Park was hasty and rushed, Harkins said. “It was poorly handled.”
The mayor declared the matter “dead on arrival.” Five hours after that statement, the council voted it down.
Responsibility for school building issues in Stratford is split — the BOE determines its needs, preferences and educational specifications required, but the town of Stratford owns the properties, has final approval authority, and manages construction and renovation projects.
Town Council chairman Joe Kubic told The Star after the vote that the Board of Education’s recommendation of Longbrook Park for a new school was “not a responsible act for elected officials.”
Theresa Sheehy, elected to the Board of Education in November, was the only member of the board to be with the public at the Town Council’s public forum Monday night. Kubic put the crowd of residents at ease when he told them before the public forum that a new school at Longbrook Park was “not something that [the council] would ever approve.”
“Both votes are correct,” Sheehy told The Star, meaning that she felt the Board of Education was right to push for the best school facility it had to choose from, and that the council was right to stand up for the taxpayers who appeared strongly opposed to the Longbrook Park location.
What BOE was thinking
After hearing of the council’s rejection of the Bord of Education’s recommendation of Longbrook Park, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Janet Robinson that the Board of Education’s purpose with its vote was to start the process of reviewing a plan for a new high school at Longbrook, and that she expected public hearings would follow. She concedes she is still “unsure of the process” for school building construction projects in the town of Stratford, having joined the district last July.
The board’s intent was to say, “This would meet the educational needs,” and then put it out for discussion, Robinson said.
Board of Education Chairman Andrea Veilleux was not available to comment after the council vote, but at press time she and BOE vice chairman Bob Chaloux submitted a letter to the editor (see page 4, this edition) explaining their action. In short, Veilleux and Chaloux say that time was of the essence because of an impending June 30 deadline for state grant money, and the town gave BOE only two options — renovate the existing Stratford High or build new at Longbrook Park. The BOE voted for what Veilleux and Chaloux say is “best for our students’ education.”
The BOE recommendation “was more about new construction” being preferred over renovation than it was about the location of Longbrook Park, Robinson said. “I was surprised [the Longbrook Park] location was brought to the board,” said Robinson.
Councilman Jim Connor said during the his group’s meeting that he saw “no intent for wrongdoing,” but that “the cart got before the horse.”
Why the rush
The council action on Monday, which was not on its meeting agenda, came to the forefront after the special meeting last Friday of the Board of Education, which was called with just two days’ notice. The panel voted four-to-two in favor of building a new high school on 30 acres of Longbrook Park, rather than continuing with renovation plans that have been in the works for more than three years.
The motion that passed was to move the recommendation of new construction to the Town Council’s Building Needs Committee for further consideration.
The special BOE meeting with little prior public discussion was advisable, according to Board of Education Chief Operating Officer Clarence Zachery, because decisions had to be made before the end of June. He explained that the state grant money that was obtained for a Stratford High renovation plan, which has been in various stages of planning for about three years, was contingent upon construction beginning by June 2014. Because that is not feasible at this point, Zachery said, the town would need to apply for an extension by June 30 in order not to lose that grant money. First, then, the town had to decide between the renovation plan and a build-new plan.
Additionally, according to Board of Education member Jancee Pust-Marcone, for the town to apply for state grants for a new school building, applications need to be in by June 30 in order to make this year’s legislative calendar.
About a dozen parents who live adjacent to the park attended, some with young children, and voiced opposition to the plan and dismay at the short notice given and the lack of public discussion on the matter of taking open park space away from their neighborhood.
Longbrook Park was never raised as a viable site at a regular meeting of the Board of Education, but it was raised at two meetings of the BOE’s Plant and Planning Committee, which are posted in Town Hall and online. The most recent Plant and Planning Committee meeting was April 7.
A feasibility study for a high school at Longbrook Park was not immediately available.
Resident Michael Elio said at Friday’s BOE meeting that he felt the town was trying to sneak through a plan without due process.
Other neighbors complained about potentially losing open space and about traffic congestion, decreased home values, and losing a “quaint” neighborhood.
Resident Sarah Barnes, baby in hand, told The Star she bought her house two years ago because of the adjacency of the park, and now will move away, “absolutely.”
“I am heartbroken,” Barnes said.
Voting in favor of building at Longbrook were Chairwoman Andrea Veilleux, Robert Chaloux, who attended the meeting via telephone, Theresa Sheehy, and Jancee Pust-Marcone.
Voting against the motion were Christian Barnaby and Len Petruccelli.
Said Republican Town Committee Chairman Lou DeCilio, “Stratford is not blessed with a lot of open space. You can’t just look at things from a numbers perspective. You have to take into account people.” He said people’s biggest investment, their house, would decrease in value if a high school were build across the street.
Zoning Commission Chairman David Fuller, far left, and Town Council Majority Leader Jim Connor, far right, along with other townspeople at Longbrook Park in Sunday, April 13, listen to Councilman Craig Budnick speak to residents about the Board of Education’s vote in favor of building a new high school at that location. The next day the Town Council unanimously rejected the recommendation of a school there, killing the idea. Roger Salls photo.