Council Member: School Board 'Proved to be Completely Maladroit'

Town Council Member Adam Weissberger has issued the following response to the Board of Education outlining how it would spend the $1 million put back into its budget on Monday. 

He attended the special meting of the board: 

"The Board of Education had a golden opportunity to prove to the parents and residents of this town that they were serious about trying to solve and address the problems of our school system, but last night, they proved to be completely maladroit.

"I am also troubled the BoE chose not to include a public comment section to solicit input from parents and concerned citizens who were in attendance at their meeting.  I'm uncertain how one can make an informed decision without soliciting opinions at every opportunity.

"Instead of having a real conversation about how to improve our school system and use this meeting as a way to share ideas back and forth, and have a real conversation about the state of our school system, the BoE chose to completely ignore what the voters implored them to do. The additions the BoE made to the budget ahead of the referendum are fiscally irresponsible, increase their obligations and do little to establish new ways to improve the quality of education in this town.  Additionally, there was discussion about using Alliance District money to fund more contractural obligations."

"I don't think this is what parents had in mind when they lobbied for additional education funding.  I think they wanted the BoE to think outside the box, but instead, are getting more of the same."