Wold: Board of Education and Board of Selectmen Battle For Power

 

Screenshot (Public Domain)


Submitted by David C. Wold, Greenwich Resident and Veteran


As far back as purchase of land for school purposes in Greenwich (Havemeyer, Byram schools etc.), it seems like Board of Education (BOE) or equivalent has had a separate identity away from the traditional configuration of Board of Selectmen (BOS).

Multiple attempts have been made over the 100 years to get BOS to have ‘power’ over BOE when it comes to disposition over their ‘decisions and inventory.” BOS has traditionally lost when BOE has taken a stand on their ‘department’.

As you all know, I have done some research around Havemeyer building and much more when it comes to Byram school grounds , after BOS and Town Hall has expressed ‘it is all our property’  and we do what we
want.

It started with the Havemeyer building and its front lawn here a few years ago, in BOE had ‘no say’ in BOS/Town Hall’s decision to apply for grants from the State to move Arch Street and expand the WWI triangular plaza to meet some concept that Engineering Department of Town Hall had come up with to improve traffic flow and parking. History showed then that BOS/Town Hall had made multiple attempts to take ‘school land’ for municipal use like parking. It always ended by BOE not accepting such overreach.

Byram school, slightly different, but along the same lines. BOS multiple times approached BOE for land to be used in connection with Western Jr. Highway, and BOE agreed (I believe Law Department found 6 Municipal Improvements (MI’s) related to release
of land for, “that one purpose” requested by BOS – and seemingly always needed to be APPROVED BY BOE.

The Law Department found one case (1969 MI#130) in which BOE ‘donated’ property to BOS/Town Hall for the construction of a public outdoor rink ONLY. BOS requested this land for that sole purpose and BOE approved same, as it would have ‘rights’ for suitable hours of use for their students (a DPW maintenance shack / yard would likely not have been approved – even if parkland related). Parking for the use of this property was established to be a) shared parking in the park next to the rink on school property b) parking at what is also shared parking with BOE (Western Middle School) and latter accommodations for staff and ADA parking within the donated parcel.

Today BOS/Town Hall treat this parcel ‘as their property’ free of any restrictions or parking needs attached. I fear similar can come up if Havemeyer property is transferred to Town Hall without ‘deed restrictions’ recorded as BOE and BOS is on ‘same agenda.” It seems to be a problem in finding any file surrounding the ‘public rink only’ release of land from BOE at Town Hall, besides BOE’ s minutes and newspaper articles.

We see now ‘a new way of controlling BOE and their assets’ with an attempt from people who have been elected (BOS) due to political stands (2-1) to appoint the BOE board members, with people that likely in the future would comply with BOS requests.

I am against it, as I was against ‘stacking’ our representation in Hartford from one political party only. We know from last year’s elections that ‘today’ the Republican party is struggling on which ‘leadership’ represents their voters in the RTM/RTC etc. and It should not be a decision in the hands of a slim ‘majority’ of two on the BOS
who clearly represented ‘one side’ of loyalist.

It needs to be more representative when it comes to the nominations and appointment of board members, particularly when it comes to education (fear of any endocrine down the road either way) of our future leaders (from the public-school side).

I find the BOS request for use of FOI in their challenging the legality ‘interesting’ and looking forward to seeing how fast it moves forward.  “Normally” this process can take over one school year to get the requested information released.

Related article:

Amid Controversy, Greenwich School Board Elects Officers Read

 


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