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Monday, May 1, 2006

BY SYDNEY SCHWARTZ

Copyright © 2006 Republican-American

WASHINGTON, Conn. — Region 12 voters return to the polls Tuesday, just a week after rejecting $39.3 million to pay for elementary school renovations.

This time, they'll vote on $18.99 million to operate schools for the next fiscal year.

If this vote also fails, the region will be left hanging, and rushing to pass two distinct multimillion-dollar referendums before summer deadlines.

"That does become a problem because of time constraints and legal issues and so forth," Superintendent Richard E. Carmelich Jr. said.

In recent years, Region 12 operating budgets have usually required two to three referendums to pass. About a decade ago, it took as many as seven, school board Chairwoman Irene Allan said.

The Board of Education originally hoped the project referendum would take place in February, so it would not affect the budget referendum, but ended up with a two-step process.

In an advisory referendum March 7, voters chose to renovate three local elementary schools rather than create a consolidated school in Washington for $29.8 million. Last week, they voted against the $39.3 million cost for the renovations.

Some say voters will reject Tuesday's operating budget because they are angry about the outcome. Others think that because of the renovation referendum, the budget vote is not on anyone's radar.

"I heard someone say because of the confusion, the anger, the frustration, don't support the school budget," First Selectmen Richard C. Sears of Washington said.

Brian Krin, co-chairman of the political action committee "Save Our Schools," said that's true.

He said people will vote down the budget because the Board of Education didn't listen to recommendations to lower the amount by about $4 million.

"As a taxpayer, your only protest vote when people aren't listening is not to give them what they're asking for," he said.

His wife Sandy, co-chairman of the Booth Free School PTO, said she'll vote against the budget just because it includes money for emergency renovation projects that would have been funded had the $39.3 referendum passed.

School board members say these funds would be used for other purposes or given back to the towns if the project referendum is approved.

"It's a vote against the school board. It's not so much the vote against the number," Bridgewater First Selectman William T. Stuart said. "They've got to start listening to the public."

But most people think voters will keep the issues separate.

"There's not going to be much impact of the one on the other," said John H. Field, chairman of the Washington Board of Finance, who was involved with the political action committee "Consolidate for Better Education."

Board of Education Chairman Irene Allan is not so sure, but she said education and facilities will definitely be affected if residents don't pass the budgets.

"The question is how much would it impact. Would there be a backlash vote of some sort? My crystal ball isn't that good," she said.