Ridgefield BOE Opposes School District Regionalization, Sends Letters to Government Officials, Education Committee

In response to the proposed bills regarding the regionalization and consolidation of area school districts, Ridgefield Board of Education recently sent letters to our local representatives and the Education Committee in opposition to the Bills.

Below is a statement from the Ridgefield BOE:

The BOE opposes the forced consolidation of school districts proposed by legislation: SB 738, 457, and HB 6828. We sent letters to representatives John Frey, Will Haskell, and Kenneth Gucker. These letters confirm the BOE's commitment to keeping local control of Ridgefield schools. We voluntarily collaborate and share resources with our neighboring districts and look forward to finding opportunities to continue to do that. We encourage individual citizens opposed to the proposed bills to also write directly to their local representatives to voice their concerns.

The letters

To State Representative John Frey

Dear Representative Frey,

We appreciate all the many proposals from different stakeholders that you receive and review. 

The Ridgefield Board of Education has reviewed the proposed legislation, SB 738, 457 and HB 6828, each concerning some aspect of school district size and reorganization. The Ridgefield BOE is a dedicated governing body of nine elected citizens committed to allocating the resources necessary to meet the needs of our nearly 5,000 students.  We are united in opposition to these proposals that reduce local accountability, reduce the efficacy of local school organization and threaten the local accountability for each town.  Our students and their education are at the forefront of our decision-making, and we endeavor to use our local resources to meet our vision of a Ridgefield graduate.

The legislation that has been proposed this session is an attempt to thwart local control under the guise of fiscal responsibility.  The current proposals would devalue the legislative framework of boards of education, create legal uncertainty as these proposals would apply regardless of any conflicting special act, municipal charter or home rule ordinance, and severely limit the power and authority of boards of education to control their budgets and to make decisions based on the educational priorities of their districts.  This reallocation of power from school boards to multiple boards is unprecedented and is a refutation of the local control that you advocate.

There are opportunities to achieve some of the objectives of the legislation without significant disruptions by making it easier and more efficient for boards of education to voluntarily work together to deliver some specialist educational services, and achieve economies of scale.  Where possible the Ridgefield BOE would like to work with other towns to reduce the costs to taxpayers for the services that are required by our students. It would be beneficial to students if the legal constraints and obstacles that have arisen from prior legislation were reduced to allow mutual benefit via cooperation. 

We urge you to reject these bills as they will have an adverse impact on the State’s public education system.

Thank you.

A similar letter was sent to State Senator William Haskell and State Representative Kenneth Gucker

Dear Mr. Haskell,

We appreciate all the many proposals from different stakeholders that you receive and review. The Ridgefield Board of Education reviewed the recently proposed legislation: SB 738, 457, and HB 6828. Because each of these proposals directly impacts our community and our schools, we believe it is important you consider our voice in your deliberations.

The Ridgefield Board of Education is a dedicated governing body of nine elected citizens committed to allocating the resources necessary to meet the needs of our nearly 5,000 students. We are united in opposition to these proposals that reduce local accountability, reduce the efficacy of local school organization, and threaten the local accountability for each town. Our students and their education are at the forefront of our decision-making. We use our local resources to meet our vision of a Ridgefield graduate and do not seek to impose our vision on other communities, nor do we wish to have theirs forced upon us.

The proposed legislation attempts to thwart local control under the guise of fiscal responsibility. The current proposals devalue the legislative framework of boards of education. Each proposal creates legal uncertainty because they would apply regardless of any conflicting special act, municipal charter or home rule ordinance. This severely limits the power and authority of boards of education to control their budgets and to make decisions based on the educational priorities of their districts.

We support opportunities to achieve some of the objectives of the legislation. We do want regulations to be supportive of efforts of boards of education to voluntarily work together to deliver some specialist educational services, and achieve economies of scale. Where possible the

Ridgefield Board of Education will continue to work with other towns to reduce the costs to taxpayers for the services that are required by our students. It would be beneficial to students if the legal constraints and obstacles that have arisen from prior legislation were reduced to allow mutual benefit via cooperation.

We urge you to reject these bills as they will have an adverse impact on the State’s public education system. Thank you.

 

R
Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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