Stinting On The NHS Expansion Would Be Penny Wise And

Pound Foolish

To the Editor:

The primary argument used to vote against the school expansion as proposed by the Board of Education is that the number of school children in Newtown will decrease by 2017, making the size of this expansion unnecessary. What is lost in the argument is what happens beyond 2017. UConn published a census study for Newtown that indicates that by 2020 the high school age population begins to increase again, eventually exceeding our current high school age population.

By attempting to cut back on the current capital spending plan for the high school and looking out only ten years instead of looking out 15 to 25 years, as should be done when a community is asked to spend millions of dollars, those against the current high school expansion plan will cause this community to spend far more to fix this problem due to needs of the student population in 2020 and beyond. By not looking beyond 2017, by not creating a plan to deal with the obvious needs of our students now and in the future, our children and our tax dollars are being abused and misused.

The Board of Education has stated plainly that whatever the final outcome for this expansion of Newtown High School, it will be cost prohibitive to expand it further. With that in mind, those wishing to cut down the expansion plans for the high school will force this community to look at building a new high school in ten to 15 years because of inadequate space due to the increase in the number of school age children in Newtown after 2020, as stated by the UConn census. You tell me, is it cheaper to spend a few additional dollars now to expand the school as planned by the Board of Education or to build a new school in ten to 15 years due to inadequate space and expandability at the present high school?

The crisis of overcrowding is here right now at our high school, yet members of the Board of Selectmen want to debate whether we should use the low end estimate of student population as estimated by our consultants. As Mr Rosenthal and Mr Mangiafico debate our needs out to 2017 and ignore the next jump in student population in 2020 and beyond, our high school may be put on “academic probation” due to the current overcrowding.

By voting for the Board of Education plan for Newtown High School we extend the useful life of Newtown High School by 20 to 25 years. By voting with Mr Rosenthal and Mr Mangiafico, ten years after the last nail is pounded into their inadequate expansion plan for the school, this community will be facing the same problem of overcrowding in the high school and the same threat of academic probation by the state. At the least this is “penny wise and pound foolish”; at most this is gross misuse of our tax dollars.

Charles Hepp

Winter Ridge Road, Sandy Hook                                 March 26, 2008