On The Right Track

To the Editor:

It is a significant privilege for me to have been selected to fill the open position on the Newtown Board of Education. The board has a critical responsibility overseeing the education of our children, and I am greatly honored and humbled by the board’s confidence in me and pledge to do the best job I can. Hopefully, I will be able to use my experience as a parent, businessman, homeowner, and taxpayer to seek the best balance of education quality and fiscal responsibility.

I would like to thank Superintendent Janet Robinson and her staff for the excellent job they have done briefing me on the ongoing school activities. In particular I would like to thank High School Principal Chip Dumais for a review of the High School Expansion Project. As the expansion is a significant expense for our community and essential for solving the overcrowding problem at the high school, it is critical that the project be executed well. Although the project has been ongoing for only a little over three months, significant progress is visible.

Over the years I have had opportunity to manage several large, complex projects, and have learned, just as anyone who has managed even a modest home remodeling project, that such projects require careful management. It is virtually impossible to foresee every problem that can be exposed or plan for every minute detail far in advance. The only way to succeed at these projects is with good, experienced management. From what I saw, the expansion project is on the right start: using modern project management practices, a highly detailed design, and a team approach. We are fortunate that Chip Dumais is the school system’s point man on the project. His prior experience with similar school construction projects and his good management skills will serve us well.

Undoubtedly, over the next year and a half scheduled for the project’s completion, problems will arise. However, I feel very comfortable that we are on the right track to manage them and make this a successfully project for Newtown.

William Hart

Member, Newtown Board of Education

24 Fawnwood Road, Sandy Hook                    August 26, 2009