Letter to the Editor of the Milford Mirror
Reader: School decision was certainly political
To the Editor:
I was disappointed when the K-2, 3-5 elementary school restructuring plan was passed by the Board of Education. I had concerns about the plan itself; but what was most upsetting was the way the plan was rolled out to the public at the last minute, with little opportunity for public input, most of which was ignored by the board anyways. Change can be good for everyone, when the change is planned well in advance and rolled out in a methodical way with input from everyone involved, but this change was too much, too fast, with everyone feeling like it was a done deal by the time the plan was announced.

But once it passed I was ready to move forward and accept it. Then I read Tom Jagodzinski's letter a few weeks ago and I was upset all over again. This plan is such a huge shake up for this city I can see why Tom wants the public to think of this change as nonpolitical, but let's be clear, the Republican party controls this city. And once the Republican triumvirate of the mayor, BOE chair and BOA chair gave this plan their blessing, it was a done deal. This plan never would have passed in such a rush without Republican support.

School officials started working on this plan six months before it was released to the public in late April. Why did the public find out so late? Well, the administration reports to the Board of Ed leadership so they controlled the time table. I am sure it's no accident that this was done in an off year for municipal elections. The short time frame helped to minimize the public discussions about it, so they could make their decision behind closed doors as usual.

No matter where you stood on this plan, there was one concern everyone agreed upon, I wish we had more time. Everyone would have preferred not to make this change in a rush. Everyone, except the Republican triumvirate. This is how they operate. We have seen it time and time again. They wait until the last minute to roll out a plan that is potentially unpopular, tolerate public comment for a few meetings and then pass it anyways, claiming there is no time to do anything else. How about long term planning or collaborative efforts to get everyone involved in making improvements? Not with this administration. Many people asked, why not hold off for a year? Of course not, because next year there are municipal elections.

You can make valid arguments about the pros and cons of this plan, but don't tell me this was not a political decision. Good, bad or indifferent, the Republican party owns this plan and, more importantly, owns the style in which it was passed, with the public virtually shut out of the process. And the voters have every right to hold the board members accountable for what they passed and how they passed it.

Jennifer Federico