WINSLOW — The Town Council voted to table the second and final vote on whether to send the $8.6 million school renovation bond for residents’ approval in June after confusion and frustration took hold of Monday evening’s meeting.
Councilor Jeff West, who voted to send the bond to voters during the initial vote, proposed a motion to table the order, saying he was under the impression that there would have been a joint meeting between the School Board and council prior to the final reading of the order. He also said that he was not alone on the council in that assumption.
Other councilors and board members present said that no such meeting had been requested, but rather the two bodies would meet before the second reading of the school’s operating budget so the council could know the impact additional cuts to the spending increase would have on the students.
The bond would fund the closing of Winslow Junior High School and the renovation of both the high school and the elementary school in order to absorb the displaced sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students. In addition to classroom space for those students, the bond includes money for a new 428 seat auditorium, and for auxiliary gymnasium and food service expansions at the high school. It also includes money to renovate the elementary school to add space for sixth-graders. Renovation to the auditorium includes more space for the band and chorus, and changes would be made to the seating area for superior acoustics.
In the council’s first vote on whether the bond should go to voters, it narrowly passed by a vote of 4-3, with Steve Russell, Patricia West, Jeff West and Ray Caron voting for the bond and Ken Fletcher, Ben Twitchell and Jerry Quirion opposed.
West said that he didn’t find an email sent to councilors from Alternative Organization Structure 92 Superintendent Eric Haley showing estimated savings for consolidating the schools — which came out to be a little more than $400,000 annually — to be satisfactory information before voting on the order. He said he was frustrated that he could not tell his constituents what the mill rate impact would be by the $8.6 million plan.
Councilor Patricia West asked why he didn’t request a meeting when one didn’t take place. He said it wasn’t his desire to do so.
Chairman Steve Russell and others said they could provide an estimate of the mill rate impact on the ballot along with the referendum question at the polls so the voters could make an informed decision, but added that a concrete number wouldn’t be known until the bond was approved and structured.
Jeff West asked if the school board could meet before taking another vote on the bond to get more information, which would need to take place on or before May 3 so that the council could meet the deadline to get it on the ballot.
School Board Chairman Joel Selwood said there probably would not be any new information in regard to estimated operating savings if the panels met again, saying if the council wanted additional savings to be found that more work would need to be done.
Mary Beth Bourgoin, a teacher at the junior high, said it was sad to see a councilor who voted for sending the bond to voters initially to now be in the process of flipping the vote out of frustration between the relationship and lack of communiction between the board and council.
“Doing something out of spite never has a good outcome,” she said. “I never thought the bickering and animosity that’s going on at the national and state level would ever come to our small little town.”
Other residents and school officials asked the council to send the bond to voters so they could have their say.
Among them was Earl Watts, who said that “by voting no and not sending this to voters, you are denying me the right to have my say in this town’s affairs. Give me that opportunity.”
“Let all of the voters have their say. Don’t decide it with 7 people,” he said.
Phil St. Onge, an opponent of the plan, told the council not to shirk their duty and that the charter grants them the power on whether or not to send a referendum to voters.
The council ultimately decided to table the order on a vote of 4 to 3, with Jeff West, Ken Fletcher, Ben Twitchell and Jerry Quirion voting to table the matter and Steve Russell, Patricia West and Ray Caron opposing the motion.
Emily Higginbotham — 861-9239
ehigginbotham@centralmaine.com
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