Support High School Expansion As Is

To the Editor:

The following are my personal views. I am not speaking on behalf of the Legislative Council, of which I am a member.

I was very pleased to see members of the community fill the council meeting room at the library on March 19 to express their feelings concerning the recent vote of our Board of Selectmen to not approve funding for a much needed high school expansion project.

These people wanted the council to hear their concerns as to how the Board of Selectmen could make such a determination at the tail end of an exhaustive multiyear review process. The overwhelming majority wanted our help to make sure this high school expansion, as currently proposed, would receive the support of the appropriate government authorities in time for a public vote this spring. I encourage them to continue to express their feelings publicly until the project has been voted upon by the public.

Even at the lowest level of student projections, the currently proposed high school expansion is going to be fully utilized for educational purposes. We are building an expansion that will meet our needs over a longer term than the previous high school expansion, which was outmoded the day it was completed. Unlike that expansion, this proposal is a long-term solution to a pressing problem, with the state reimbursing nearly one-third of the construction costs.

The expansion plan also addresses overdue renovations to the high school gymnasium, which is used by both students and the community. It offers the opportunity to provide turf for Blue and Gold Stadium, which will allow greater use of the facility for high school and town-sponsored recreational athletics, helping to alleviate the problem of overcrowded town playing fields.

I encourage all taxpayers to watch the excellent student video playing on television cable Channel 17 that looks at the issue of high school overcrowding. It is an eye-opener.

It’s time to stand up and address high school overcrowding with the long-term solution represented by the current high school expansion plan. Our community deserves nothing less.

Finally, I want to take a moment to congratulate the students, teachers, and all the volunteers involved in the wonderful productions of Beauty and The Beast at the Newtown Middle School and Hello Dolly at the Newtown High School. You all did a superb job. You set a wonderful example of what great things can happen when a community comes together to work towards a common goal!

Gary Davis

23 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook                         March 26, 2008