Wanted: A Blue & Pink Ribbon Panel
Wanted: A Blue & Pink Ribbon Panel
To the Editor:
The council meeting of February 1 was a disappointment! The chairman used an hour to berate the Board of Education. That board had scheduled a public hearing for Monday, February 6, to discuss the space crunch at Newtown High School, but the Board of Education had failed to clear the date first with the council chair. Also, the Board of Education failed to give the Space Needs Committee an appropriate charge; therefore, that group couldnât do a proper study. No mention that the Space Needs Committee could have requested new directives.
During the selectmanâs report, he explained efforts to gain more state aid to education, the only positive remarks of the evening. Then, like the council chair, proceeded to criticize the Board of Education for calling a public meeting without clearing the date with his office first. Next, he spoke against the creation of a blue ribbon panel to wrestle with the long list of municipal projects that are being ignored or addressed piecemeal. He explained the town already had a process for creating a priority list, but that he would convene a private meeting with the council chair and vice chair, the Board of Finance chair, and Board of Education chair to discuss space needs and priorities. This small group will decide the priorities for our town.
When the council finally took up the suggestion from Mr Borst to form a blue ribbon panel to address municipal needs and prepare a priority list with cost estimates, the council chair ruled the council does not have the authority to create a blue ribbon panel; only the first selectman has that power. Really! Any representative group such as the council can appoint interested citizens to serve on a subcommittee to advise the council.
The process in place has failed! Portable classrooms at Newtown high next year and a cramped Senior Center are obvious proof. The system is broken!
However, a blue ribbon panel dominated by the same people wonât do the job. The panel that would do the best job is a blue and pink panel, an equal number of men and women, all under 50 years old. Their vision for the future is critical.
The only positive event at the meeting was the voice of parents who expressed grave concerns about the high school overcrowding. They were seeking encouragement, but left with nothing.
If the council meetings were televised, I wouldnât be writing this letter. Will the council members please step up the plate and take our town down the path of long range planning?
Ruby K. Johnson
16 Chestnut Hill Road, Sandy Hook                  February 8, 2006