McKinley referendum could be first of many

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McKinley referendum could be first of many

By Ciarmiello, Staff reporter March 12, 2002

An anticipated referendum on funding to demolish and rebuild McKinley

Elementary School could be the first such town-wide vote since 1997, but it

might be only one of several trips to the polls for residents over the next

year.

Leaders of The Fairfield Taxpayers Association, which has been relatively

quiet for over four years, are saying that they will protest not only the

McKinley allocation, but any of a multitude of upcoming projects in light of

a potential 47 percent tax increase facing the town over the next five

years.

" Absolutely, " said TFTA Board of Directors Coordinator Muriel Menhart when

asked if more referendums could follow the McKinley protest. " We're drawing

the line. We can't march to a 50 percent tax increase. We're not going to. "

The $20.65 million funding request to demolish and rebuild McKinley, which

was closed in October 2000 due to toxic mold, was approved by the Board of

Finance and Representative Town Meeting earlier this month. The Taxpayers

Association states in a newsletter that previous work on McKinley has been

mismanaged, and says the school could be remediated and renovated for about

half of what a new building would cost, an assertion several town officials

dispute.

Under the Town Charter, residents can file for a referendum within two weeks

after any RTM approval of $150,000 or more. Five percent of the town's

eligible voters must sign petitions calling for a referendum in that time

frame, meaning that 1,670 voters must sign petitions by March 5 for a

McKinley referendum to occur, according to Town Clerk Marguerite Toth.

A referendum would be held 21 to 28 days after the signatures are certified,

with the exact date set by the Board of Selectmen. To overturn the RTM's

decision, at least 25 percent of the town's eligible voters would need to

vote against the funding request on the day of the referendum, provided that

those voting against the request also constitute a majority of all of those

voting during the referendum.

Menhart said it would be clear by the end of this week whether the taxpayers

group will garner enough signatures to contest the McKinley project.

The taxpayers group claims approximately 1,000 members, according to

Menhart, and about 2,000 other families receive the group's newsletter.

Menhart also said she is ready to referendum any upcoming project that she

believes to be extravagant, and thinks that a majority of the association

members share her views. With large renovation projects scheduled at

Fairfield High School, Ludlowe Middle School (which will become the

town's second high school), and Tomlinson Middle School, and a $21.9 million

new Burr Street elementary school planned, that means taxpayers could be

heading to the polls several times in the next year.

To avoid more referendums, First Selectman Flatto says he is

attempting to diffuse some of the taxpayer group's opposition.

" I'm interested in reaching out to try to prove that we'll be likely to

contain the overall tax picture much better than it looked a few months

ago, " Flatto said Monday. The first selectman said he hopes that setting

priorities and keeping budget increases minimal will show taxpayers that the

future is manageable.

Flatto noted that his proposed tax increases for the next two years are

close to half of what his Financial Advisory Committee had anticipated, and

said he hopes to present an updated five-year plan detailing his project

priorities sometime in March.

McKinley would be at the top of that list if it were unveiled today, Flatto

said. Scrapping plans for a new building in favor of a renovation plan

" would be not only very costly but also very destabilizing " for other

projects reliant on McKinley, he said.

Parents who have pushed hard for a new school to be built also appear ready

to battle any referendum effort.

" It's not just about McKinley, " said the school's PTA president, Charlotte

, noting that the high school renovations at Ludlowe hinge on the

project. McKinley students are currently housed in a wing of Ludlowe and if

they are not out of that building by August 2003, the high school

renovations could be delayed.

" I have every confidence in the town [supporting the funding], " said.

" I know this town is behind education. "

de Wolf, chairman of the Elementary School Building Committee, said

last week that Construction has recently estimated a renovation

project at $18.8 million, not including window replacement. The current

total price tag for a new building is $23.65 million. Last year, town bodies

approved $2.5 million for initial work on the project.

De Wolf said that if a renovation plan were now adopted, the school's

reopening would be delayed nine months to one year, and between $1.7 million

and $2 million already spent on the rebuilding plan would be wasted. If the

funding does go forward following a referendum, the demolition of the school

would be set back only about one week, to April 22, he estimated.

©Fairfield Minuteman 2002