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Politics & Government

School Repairs Might be Added to Nov. Bond Referendum

The Manchester Board of Directors want to meet with with the school board in August to discuss a request to include $4.9 million in facilities renovations on the November bond referendum ballot.

The Board of Directors wants more information about a school board request to include $4.9 million worth of “critical” facilities repairs on the November referendum ballot.

At their meeting Tuesday night, directors had several questions about the amount requested, the items requested and the time constraints faced by the boards to get the items on a ballot and before voters in less than four months; General Manager Scott Shanley said a decision to include it on the ballot would need to be made by September.

, the school board voted unanimously to include items on the ballot that it deemed “critical” based on its assessment of facilities, such as replacing the roofs at Bowers, Waddell and Verplanck elementary schools, electrical repairs at Manchester High School, parking lot repairs at Arthur H. Illing Middle School, among other repairs.

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Director Steve Gates said he wants to meet with the decision makers on the Board of Education to gain insight into the process used to determine the selection of the requested items. He noted that many seemed to be in line with the School Modernization and Reinvestment Team Revisited (SMARTR) committee's objectives, but that the recommendations made by a national accreditation agency several years ago related to ADA compliance were not on the list.

“I just have a number of questions that I'd like to be able to ask [the Board of Education],” Gates said.

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“I think this is a large number to pass at this time and we should consider a spring referendum for many of these items,” board member Cheri Pelletier said.

Deputy Mayor Jay Moran said he preferred the November date for a referendum, specifically in a Presidential election year due to the likelihood of higher voter turnout.

Mayor Leo Diana expressed concern about the amount of the request, especially considering the already approved by the Board of Directors to be placed on the referendum ballot. He said that a much larger bond for school repairs would likely be coming in the next year, so special care must be taken on how much the taxpayers would be able to pay.

“This is, to me, a short term fix, but I don't think it should be anywhere near the $4.9 million being requested,” Diana said.

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