The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received July 6, 2025.
The third referendum asks for approval of a 3.08% increase in the school’s operating budget for the coming school year only. This budget proposal has nothing to do with the proposal to demolish most of the existing high school and build a new one. I remain a firm “No” against the demolition and rebuild proposal, but that is not what the July 8, 2025 referendum is about.
A 3.08% budgetary increase is a reasonable proposal and should be approved. Tax bills are already out to the public in both towns, and the current proposal will not change what we are paying this year for taxes.
It is common to hear complaints about the existence of an Assistant Superintendent position these days, both in the local paper and in conversations around town. It is a fair question to ask whether such a position is necessary for our district; however, if you are waiting for the BOE to eliminate this position before you vote “Yes,” you wait in vain. Here’s why: The current Assistant Superintendent signed a three-year contract that does not expire until June 30, 2026! So, if you eliminate the position this summer, you have achieved zero savings, as the district is legally bound to pay the salary through next June. (A copy of the contract is public knowledge and is easy to find through a Google search.)
If you are wondering how many other area districts have an Assistant Superintendent, I did an AI-assisted search for all thirteen Middlesex County towns. Here are the results: Of the thirteen school districts, seven have Assistant Superintendents, and six do not. However, it should be noted that sometimes other labels are used to describe the functions of administrators who may do the same job as some Assistant Superintendents.
The proper way to ask whether we need such a position will be to make that an issue for the coming local election and to go to a BOE meeting and ask for justification. Meanwhile, it is useless to vote “No” unless the current Board drops that position this summer because, as I said earlier, they are contractually obligated to pay for it until next June 30th.
There is a great deal about our school system to be proud of. Hundreds of our graduates have gone on in life to excel in a diverse number of important fields such as medicine, the armed services, academia and business. It is wonderful for me to hear so many instances of high achievement by former HK students and athletes. Let’s not forget, too, the incredible achievements of so many of our athletic teams and coaches over the years.
2025 marked the 50th anniversary of coaching for both Mark Brookes (baseball), who has the second all-time winning record of any baseball coach in the history of high school baseball in Connecticut, and track coach Dick Dupuis, whose list of conference and state championships for HKHS is staggering! Just last month more than 160 of his former track athletes traveled many miles from places across the country to join 100 other people to honor Coach Dupuis in his retirement!
Whether you have a child in the school system or not, it is in every homeowner’s interest to keep in high regard the reputation of our local schools. It is no secret that real estate in school districts that have good reputations commands a lot more money than real estate in disreputable districts. I urge a “Yes” vote on July 8th.
Phil Devlin, Higganum
Thanks for the info, Phil, on the Assistant position. That clarifies a lot.
I do struggle with the real estate value, however. Given our town’s make-up and tax base, the burden of paying for it falls too squarely on taxpayers. We’re never going to be a Madison or Guilford or, heaven forbid, some of the people comparing education levels to the Gold Coast towns. I suppose it’s difficult to know how much is enough. It’s like cars. It might be nice to drive a Lexus or a BMW, but lots of less expensive cars get you to the same place much more economically. We spend too much time on test scores and we can’t play “keeping up with the Joneses!” How do we focus the Superintendent and BOE that a Chevrolet is perfectly acceptable?