The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of this newspaper.
I wanted to respond to Todd Blewett’s recent letter to the editor, entitled “Silent Majority Needs to Speak Up” and clarify some misconceptions in the letter.
I understand Todd wants to support both his family and our excellent schools, as do I and a lot of people concerned about our joint district. I’ve been an outspoken supporter of our schools as long as I’ve lived in Haddam, all 17 years. However, far from the notion that this is a small minority of people, Haddam residents opposing HES closing range from the political hard core left to hard core right and all in between. In age from early 20’s through 80’s. Across socioeconomic groups and across diverse neighborhoods. Opposition to the closing of HES is the closet Haddam’s been to being united in anything in quite awhile
A few facts:
1) It’s not 50-100 people who are concerned about HES closing. In fact, over 1200 signatures have been gathered (the vast majority from Haddam residents) on a petition urging the BOE to NOT close HES. The number of signatures on this petition exceeds the number of people who usually vote on an RSD 17 budget. These signatures were provided to the BOE and have been discussed at many BOE meetings, and I’m sorry Mr Blewett wasn’t aware of this information.
2) Furthermore, nearly every business owner in Higganum is adamantly against HES closing. They believe the school closing will severely impact their sales and ability to stay afloat. The much beloved owner of Higganum Market, Ming has stated at a BOE meeting that if HES closes he’ll likely have to close or sell the Market. This would have a devastating impact on business, property values and Haddam’s ability to support our shared schools.
3) Both Haddam’s Board of Selectman and Planning and Zoning Commission have submitted letters asking the BOE to delay closing of HES and the educational restructuring for a year pending further opportunities for town input and consideration. As Suzanne Sack, who oversaw the plan for educational restructuring at the BOE said at the last BOE meeting, the opportunity for public input and education was insufficient. And again, the Haddam BOS represents ALL Haddam residents and has unanimously and officially requested the BOE delay their plans for a year. This year will allow the BOE time to gather the public input and provide education on the plan.
4) As noted in numerous studies, closing schools has a profound impact on communities and neighborhoods, impacting both the social and economic fabric of communities. For example, this 2018 study by the well respected Hartford Foundation for Public Giving:
“Risks to Rural Communities: Rural communities that close their local school because of regionalization later experience social disintegration because the school is no longer central to the community In contrast, rural communities that keep their schools open fare better socioeconomically…” (Rodriquez, O., K-12 Regionalization in Connecticut: Pros, Cons and Surprises, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, 2018)
4) As noted in numerous reports, in 1972 the RSD17 BOE provided the towns of Haddam and Killingworth the right of first refusal on any property previously transferred to the District by the respective towns for land previously given to the school. The minutes of this BOE decision, from September 21, 1972 have been published online, as has a Hartford Courant article referencing them. The BOE MUST follow its own protocols and they failed to in this case. This is a matter of proper process, which the BOE ignored and didn’t follow.
5) While I would never defend rude or threatening comments from the public (and I’ve seen very little of it), I would be remiss in pointing out the frequent eye rolling, sighs and dismissive attitudes on the part of the BOE not only to the public but towards some of their own members who have questioned or opposed HES closing. I served two terms on our town’s Planning and Zoning Board, and we frequently listened patiently and respectfully for hours at a time to angry residents regarding zoning issues that went on for hours. At a recent BOS meeting, the public comment period also exceeded 2 hours. I’ve served in boards in other towns and worked for a US Senator during a contentious political time. I’ve honestly never seen a publicly elected board that has been so dismissive not only to public input but towards each other. This has been very upsetting to me and is doing much damage to the reputation of the BOE and ultimately will hurt the school system we both cherish and support.
In summary, Mr Blewett’s letter was misinformed about the 50-100 people who oppose the school closing. The 1200 individual signatures and widespread signs and large turnouts from a politically and demographically diverse group of citizens speaks to this fact, as would any time spent in Haddam talking to our residents. On that score I really urge Mr Blewett and his spouse, Eileen, who serves on the BOE, to come to Haddam and talk to people to understand the depth of passion we feel about closing a school in the heart of our community. Ultimately the school closing will hurt our town economically and diminish its trust of the BOE, which will harm our ability ability to fund the schools. This will hurt both our communities.
Sincerely, Peter Baird
Parent of two HK students
