Dear Editor:

The visioning for our current planning began in 2018 after the referendum for the heating and ventilation upgrades at the elementary school. Visioning is political speech; I call it planning.

Our school district is guided by a two-town charter. As far as I know, we are the only school system in the state to be governed this way. There may be others but I am not aware. Two separate boards: CSD Curriculum, Teachers, Administration, Trustees, Buildings, Grounds, Maintenance.

The situation we are currently in is a direct result of the charter. The high school was opened in 1956. The charter provided $12,500 per year in capitol reserve for unexpected repairs, emergencies, etc. – in 1956, a fair amount. In 1976, the elementary school opened. A much bigger building. Nobody bothered to look into the fact that now we have two buildings to maintain and repair. The capitol reserve was never increased, so from 1976 to 2019, that $12,500 per year has been the reserve fund.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I have been railing about this charter since 2014. No current select board or school board member was part of the cause but responsible for cleaning up this mess.

Many believe that all I want is to build a new school. Nothing could be further from the truth! I said before – assess the buildings, design and price a new building and bring the information to the public so that it can be voted on by referendum. All of our meetings were open to the public. We were begging for input. The silence was deafening! So now all you have is the work of the few that did contribute. Complain and whine all you want. This is what it has come down to.

Dear “Jack Bauer” (an online commenter) – Push yourself away from the computer, attend a B.E.C. meeting, and bully the committee to our faces.

Dear “Mackenziella” (another online commenter) – Read the charter and spend some of your valuable time to attend a meeting. You can ask questions face-to-face.

You’re probably too busy doing research to attend. We fully understand.

Steven E. Lorrain

Board of Trustees

Building Exploratory Committee