Residents Cut Kindergarten Budget

At a special school district meeting on Oct. 4, residents voted to decrease the appropriated budget for the kindergarten addition at Golden Brook School.

The decision will lower the spending plan for the project to just over $2.52 million, a $377,809 reduction from the original appropriation of $2.9 million. Of the 111 public votes that were cast, almost 66 percent favored a decrease.

School board chairman Ed Gallagher was happy about the decision and appreciative of those who took the time to vote.

"If you're here you support kindergarten, which is great," said Gallagher. "I think what it means for every taxpayer in Windham is they're going to get a kindergarten facility they can be proud of and for our youngest kids they're going to have a great facility and get off to a great start in their education."

To adhere to the new budget, several items have been knocked off the project plan. These include cubbies, millwork wall cabinets and skylights. Despite the cuts, Gallagher ensured that the footprint of the building will remain the same and that it will still be a respectable facility.

"I want to make it very clear that this will be a first-rate facility," said Gallagher. "We're not taking shortcuts. This is going to be a facility that everyone in town can be proud of."

The board decided on the special meeting after it became apparent that the funding from the state and the town's budget were not going to foot a $2.9 million bill without increasing taxes. They had originally hoped for $2.1 million in state funding, but only ended up with $1 million.

During a recap of a , board member Michelle Farrell said the board was always committed to preserving the promised taxpayer impact. When the town voted to build the kindergarten wing in March, that promise was $900,000, or a one-time cost of $148 for a $350,000 home.

Had the voters decided not to reduce the budget, that one-time cost would have raised to $210.

Board member Stephanie Wimmer said she had spoken to many residents in town who were happy about the project no matter what vote was made on the budget.

"They're just so excited that we're going to have a permanent home for our youngest students," said Wimmer.

According to Wimmer, this particular vote is just an indication that the taxpayers are "conscious of their pocketbooks" as they continue to support the kindergarten.

For those who did make the trip to the high school, the voting experience was unique in that it hadn't been done for more than 20 years. School district moderator Betty Dunn explained the nuansces of the uncommon procedure.

"For those of you who are not aware, one of the general rules is that the majority of the people present can pretty much control the mechanics of the meeting," said Dunn.

That public control was visible throughout the session, as those in the audience were allowed to make motions on decisions to move forward and offer comments.

No other items apart from the kindergarten funding appropriation were allowed to be officially discussed. The vote began as a simple "yay or nay," but one public member requested a head count which resulted in the 73-38 total.

Moving forward the board anticipates the project to begin immediately with the building to open in August 2012. Gallagher expects aggressive bids to be made for construction which could lead to some of the removed items being placed back on the final plan.