OPEN LETTER TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. [FROM RIDGEFIELD PRESS]

Here's how it works.

An issue is added to the agenda.

There is discussion & public commentary.

Naturally a consultant is contracted.

The issue is tabled.

The consultant reports out.

There is more discussion & public commentary.

But then:

Someone needs to make a motion on the issue.

Someone needs to second that motion.

The matter is then open for more discussion.

The matter is discussed even more.

Then the vote is called.

You vote.

You move on to another matter.

Well, that's not what we have in the current BoE. We have a diddling board that cannot, or will not, make important decisions.

For years -- despite a declining student population, two or three consultants, facts, figures, deadlines & commitments -- you, the Board of Education, failed to make a decision on closing a school. 

For years no one has gotten a handle on Special Education.

For years we were told there were no savings in power, busing & health care. That proved to be wrong.

Currently, despite consultants, discussions and more discussions we see more diddling on start times & now you've employed a familiar tactic: delay and more consultants.

But on a different note, after all the steps described above, plus singing, you, the BoE, finally decided to remove German from the curriculum but then promptly rescinded your vote and reinstated it.

I know everyone on the board is a volunteer. None of this commentary is meant to say that these decisions are easy or should be made in haste. But it is to say that it is the responsibility you signed up for.

Your first responsibility is to the students. Your second is to the community you serve. I realize that's a lot of responsibility, but that's the job. Please do it.

A strong supporter of great education.

Jan Rifkinson
New Road