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 September 20, 2026.
I would like to take this last minute opportunity to reach out to fellow voters in Haddam and Killingworth. It has taken me some time and a couple of changes of mind to come to the conclusion that I must speak out about the upcoming referendum on reconstruction/renovation of our very important Haddam-Killingworth High School. I have been tuned in since the beginning of the proposal. At that time and for some time after I just wasn’t convinced that what was proposed was a good idea.
I now feel, after the most recent and final presentation by the Board of Education, that the Board has done due diligence and listened to the concerns of citizens and has come up with a good plan. I do not want my taxes to go up any more than you do. I also don’t want to risk losing the money the State will contribute if we don’t do the project NOW. With the economy the way it is, things are likely to get worse before they get better.
For more than 20 years I worked full time in the present building. After I retired, I subbed there and helped with other activities for another ten years. I was the School Nurse Supervisor for more than 20 years; saw and reported many concerning issues during that time. I served on the Safety Committee with fine individuals, who also saw issues that needed to be addressed. Unfortunately, things were not kept up or addressed in a timely manner because there was a Superintendent or Board members who deemed it necessary to spend the funds on something else. I am hopeful that our new Superintendent and a relatively new Board will listen and act upon concerns of those knowledgeable reporters.
There are a number of issues that are just not safe in the building. They need to be addressed now! How wonderful it will be for folks, such as a grandparent, coming for a sick or injured student, to be able to FIND the main entrance, and then not to have to climb that awful stairwell to the Nurse’s office! It will make things so much more efficient to get a person in a wheelchair out to a waiting car and for our EMS responders to easily get to the Nurse’s office, or wherever they need to get to the patient. These are just a few of the issues from my point of view. While we were lucky not to have any twisted ankles, or worse, in the classrooms or lower level of the Media Center, with sunken levels they were an accident waiting to happen, every day. Bus drop- off and pick-up was a scary process to watch from my office. Our drivers are amazing!
The issues I brought up are only part of the bigger picture. Just because we may not have children in school now doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have an interest in making sure all of our children have the opportunity to attend a good, functional and efficient high school. They are the future and you likely have family members who received a good education at HKHS. There are so many reasons to think hard, bite the bullet and vote YES to this project!
Carol Flanagan-Dupuis, Higganum
