Some redistricting could be in store
Middletown OKs audit of building referendum
Another chapter in the Middletown school district’s ongoing drama over the school renovations planned more than six years ago unfolded last week.
At last week’s Board of Education organization meeting, the district decided to have an independent audit of its two multi-million dollar construction referendums and discussed the option of redistricting students from High School North to High School South to ease the space crunch that will be caused by construction at North, the district’s largest school.
The school board voted 9-0 to approve an audit on the district’s six-year-old, often troubled construction referendum in order to allay the fears of some in the community that the money has been spent improperly.
Board member Sherry Gevarter, who proposed the measure at last week’s organization meeting, said that the district needs to restore public confidence in the renovation projects at the district’s three middle schools and two high schools, particularly in reference to the project at High School North.
The North project is the only one planned under the $78.5 million construction referendum originally passed by voters in 1996 that has yet to start. An additional $10.5 million was approved by voters last December in order to finish the five projects, which were over budget.
The board rejected a second round of bids on North earlier this year after they came back $3 million higher than anticipated — forcing the district to overhaul the plans, remove a seven-classroom addition from the project, and push the start date back from April 1 to June 1.
The move sparked an angry outburst from hundreds of North students and parents, who turned up at the March school board meeting and spoke for hours about the unfair treatment they felt they were receiving at the hands of school officials.
"The community needs to see that every dollar is spent in the place that we say it is," said new board member Joan Minnuies. "We owe it to the community to show them that the money is there."
In addition to calling for the audit, Gevarter proposed that the board look at the possibility of moving some students, who would attend North, to High School South in order to minimize overcrowding at North when classrooms are out of commission for construction purposes.
Construction at South is expected to wrap up before the new school year next fall.
Gevarter said that the board had asked for voluntary transfers from North to South, but that if they did not receive enough, redistricting might be the only option to preserve adequate educational space. The board anticipates around 200 transfers among the 1,700 students.
"We may have to bite the bullet and do something unpopular for the students," she said.
However, concerns were raised about the impact of redistricting on the varsity sports programs and varsity athletes at North, who may become casualties of a forced transfer.
Several residents in the crowd also requested that if the issue of redistricting is put on the table, that the board form an ad hoc committee to get community input.
Gevarter also proposed that the board create a liaison from the North Parent Faculty Association to attend the facilities committee meetings, offer input about the project, and report back to the North community on the project.