Orderly and efficient — but with voters asking questions about schools and trucks, budgets and plans — the Annual Town Meeting approved all of just under $1 million in capital projects and purchases presented to it by town officials Monday night, May 4.
The meeting also set the referendum voting on the town and school operating budgets, and larger capital purchases, for next Tuesday, May 12, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. with all districts voting at Yanity Gym. (See page one story.)
“We’re asking all of you, please, get people to come out and vote,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi told the close to 50 people gathered at the Ridgefield Playhouse Monday night.
The referendum is on the 2015-16 operating budgets — $35 million for town departments, $86 million for schools, $2.75 million for roadwork, and $12 million for debt service. The $135 million total, Marconi noted, amounts to a 1.2% spending increase that the Board of Finance has proposed with no tax increase, thanks to the use of $1,850,000 from the fund balance.
“We need people to come out and support that; we don’t need a zero tax increase to be voted down,” Marconi told the meeting.
Next Tuesday’s ballot referendum will also have six other questions, including:
• $3.7 million for a major upgrade of the town’s emergency radio system; $1.25 million — of which $1.1 million will be covered by a state grant — for extension of a walk and bike path.
• $176,000 for a Mack dump truck used by the highway department for plowing and hauling.
• $230,000 to replace a fire department ambulance.
• $415,000 for three construction projects — a new roof on the town hall annex, elevator renovations in the Venus building, and work to counter erosion along a stream leading into Lake Mamanasco.
• $497,000 for two school projects, one to reduce energy use in the high school building, and another for technology infrastructure replacement.
All the questions presented to the meeting by moderator Sharon Dornfeld for votes Monday night were approved on overwhelming voice votes — many of them unanimous, though there were occasional ‘no’ votes audible on a couple of questions.
The spending approved — 26 capital projects and purchases, all items under $100,000 — included three pickup trucks (for the highway and fire departments and the golf course), guardrail replacements, mowers, security door locks for schools, a “transit-oriented development” study of Branchville.
Building projects approved ranged from locker room improvements in the Parks and Recreation Center’s wellness area to floor drains in both fire stations to new windows at Yanity gym and improvements to a stairway in the Venus building.
Computer technology purchases approved by voters included a CAD, or “computer-assisted dispatch,” system for the fire department, replacement servers for the information technology department, and a new telephone system for the parks and recreation department.
There were some light moments, as when moderator Dornfeld asked the meeting to vote on $55,000 for replacement trees — a request from the town tree warden which none among the gathered voters sought to debate.
“Those in favor of trees?” Dornfeld asked.
A chorus of voices signaled approval.
“Those opposed?”
Silence.
“Trees win,” she said.
The evening’s most extended discussion — excluding budget presentations by various officials — was an exchange in which Schools Superintendent Deborah Low was asked how Ridgefield’s school spending and performance compared with those of other school districts.
The topic was first raised by a man identifying himself as Peter Price, when voters were asked to send the $86-million school budget on to the referendum.
“We’re spending approximately $17,000 per student,” he said. “How does that compare to other schools in the area?”
Superintendent Low explained that to make “apples to apples” comparisons, the state organized towns in demographic reference groups (DRGs) based upon such factors as household income and educational level of adults in the community.
Ridgefield is in a six-town demographic reference group that includes five other affluent Fairfield County suburbs — Wilton, Weston, Westport, New Canaan, and Redding, she said.
Ridgefield has the lowest per-pupil spending in the group.
“We’re sixth out of six,” Low said.
“There’s a fair gap to No. 5, of $1,500 per pupil.
The distance to the group’s No. 1 town in per-pupil spending — Westport — is about $3,000, Low said.
The issue came back up later in the meeting, as voters approved $85,000 for security door locks in schools and $55,000 as part of a multi-year wireless network reliability project at the high school.
“We spend about $17,000 per student,” the questioner said. “We’re sixth out of six. The highest is Westport. For $3,000 more, are they getting more services?”
Low rejected the idea that Westport’s schools were qualitatively better than Ridgefield’s.
“Ridgefield is comparable to Westport any day of the week, in all areas,” she said.
“Westport’s salaries may be higher,” she said. “There may be more staff members.”
“When it comes to special education services, all districts operate the same way,” she said.
A planning and placement team studies a child’s abilities and disabilities, and develops an “individual education plan” based on the child’s needs — not the school district’s budget concerns.
What determines the special education program “is student needs,” Low said.
“If we fall sixth out six, we have less needs?” the questioner asked.
“No.”
“We’re more efficient?”
“I like to think we’re more efficient,” Low said.
“Westport has at least one elementary school assistant principal in each of its elementary schools,” she said.
Ridgefield, she had earlier explained, has two “elementary supervisors” — and the new budget would up this to three — who help the six elementary principals with some time-consuming duties, like attending all the special education planning and placement team meetings, or conducting the in-depth investigations of reported “bullying” incidents now required by the state.
Low’s questioner asked if Ridgefield High School students did as well as those from Westport in college acceptances.
“The numbers I’ve looked at were comparable,” Low said.
Her budget presentation says that “approximately 94% of 2014 RHS grads” were accepted at four-year colleges.
She also said that when rankings of colleges by organizations like Barron’s are considered, “50% of our kids are admitted to the top two most competitive levels.”
“We know we cost less,” her questioner asked. Is there a way to know how Ridgefield’s educational quality compares to other schools, like Westport.
“We have numbers around state tests, SAT scores, AP courses,” Low said. “We can look at class sizes at different grade levels.”