Don’t Shortchange The High School In The Future

To the Editor:

After participating in an official tour of the high school yesterday with Assistant Principal Jason Hiruo, Superintendence Evan Pitkoff, and other citizens of Newtown, I would like to put forward my request that the Board of Finance and the Legislative Council do all it can to ensure we do not plan for the short term nor for anything less than the high enrollment predictions in this high school project.

I observed overcrowding in several areas of the music department, a lack of storage facilities, overcrowding in the two art rooms, severe crowding in the culinary department, an undersized gymnasium with an inadequate ceiling (I didn’t realize we cannot host some events in our gym because of the low ductwork) and an athletic director who has to choose between running the heating or keeping it off so the extreme noise level coming from the fans doesn’t drown out the event. I saw a tarp hanging from the ceiling to catch melting snow that leaks in. I also observed a lunchroom that cannot fit the number of students during a lunch period. Seniors are now eating outside and in the lobby. How they manage to get lunch in crowded lines, get to the lobby and eat in the 22-minute lunch period amazes me. The teachers’ “offices” are desks are all lined up in row upon row, maximizing the number of desks they can fit into the rooms.

There is no doubt the high school is terribly cramped. I understand that building a new high school with more adequate space for athletic fields and parking is not under consideration due to the high cost to taxpayers, so we are planning to renovate and add on to our current building. So I respectfully request we guarantee ourselves proper planning for now and the future to ensure we do not incur higher costs down the road fixing what we don’t fix now. Nor should we needlessly put our students in this situation again in the future.

Thank you,

Audrey Greenwood

7 Susan Lane, Newtown                                            December 8, 2006