Candidates for first selectman discuss future of Center School

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – The Republican challenger says that Center Elementary School (CES) should not become part of the Danbury school district and the Democratic incumbent indicates that it will ultimately be up to the residents to determine how the school will be utilized after it is vacated in 2022.

Mel Butow, the GOP nominee for first selectman, said he is strongly opposed to having CES become a school for Danbury students.

The News-Times of Danbury has reported that Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton wants to consider having some elementary students move to CES after the new $78.1 million Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is built.

That facility will house students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. CES, the oldest school building in Connecticut and the only current one that was built with wood, currently has students from pre-kindergarten through first grade.

The News-Times has reported that there were 350 more students than anticipated in the Danbury school system this academic year. The city is one of the few municipalities in the state where enrollment is increasing. A new section was built recently at Danbury High School.

During the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce debate on October 28 at Whisconier Middle School, Butow said there are better uses for CES, such as relocating the overcrowded library, which was built on Whisconier Road in 1975.

A proposal to build a $14.7 million library at the municipal campus on Pocono Road was rejected nearly 2-to-1 at referendum in early 2018.

The Huckleberry project was approved this winter at referendum and in late summer the Board of Selectmen appointed an ad-hoc committee to consider future uses for CES.

Two-term Democratic incumbent Steve Dunn has said he believes CES would be an excellent site for a library and that the Parks & Recreation Department has expressed interest in utilizing the gymnasiums at the school.

During the debate, he said it would be up to Brookfield’s residents to determine the best use for CES after the new Huckleberry school is completed.

Dunn again said that he believes there are better uses for CES than becoming a school for Danbury students.

However, he added that it would be worth listening to Danbury’s offer, which in addition to paying to lease the building could also include funds to pay for police and other services.

The ad-hoc committee is expected to announce its recommendations in 2021.

Butow, a longtime financial manager, and Dunn, a retired vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase, will face off in the November 5 municipal election.

The Republican Party’s nominee for first selectman was victorious in each municipal election from 1987 through 2005. Since then, the party has only captured one race for town’s top elected post.

The Democratic nominee has been the winner in four of the last five elections.

The first selectman is the town’s highest paid elected official with an annual salary of $90,691. That will increase in January to $100,346 per year.

Town Treasurer John Lucas told Brookfield Patch this fall that the boost in salary was done to make it comparable to the pay for first selectman in similar suburban municipalities in Connecticut.