Hey Fairfield, This is a Crisis.

It’s old news already, but the Board of Education barely passed Middle School Feeder Plan E last night. Here are the details of each of the plans. Easily half the meeting (hours) was spent debating this topic and listening to parents voicing concerns about changes.

Already this morning, on the walk to and from school, I have heard quite a bit of feedback:

“They rushed the decision”

“Oh well, in a couple of years we will be going through this again”

Last night’s public comments, directed at the board, displayed the anger and frustration parents have with the Board of Education. I can empathize with these people. However, I don’t think many of them realize that the problem is larger than the Board of Education. When the school system is at 103% of capacity (today’s enrollment), the BOE has it’s hands tied. They have no room to work with. If the system is at 90-95% of it’s capacity, and redistricting is needed, the BOE is the right place to make comments. But once the capacity in the school system exceeds that level, the problem has become a town planning issue, and needs to move beyond the Board. At 103%, the Town has a crisis. This impacts all taxpayers.

Our school system has built up a reputation of excellence and is one of the most respected in the state, if not the nation. This reputation has developed over the past three decades, it doesn’t happen overnight. A reputation such as this is a major reason for the high property values. But when overcrowding in the schools becomes an issue, and it’s a problem year after year, there is a negative impact on student performance. The reputation we have earned can disappear in one school year. Watch the property values we enjoy decline in lockstep.

As I mentioned yesterday, Fairfield’s Master Plan is not aligned with the existing facilities in Town. I’m convinced people don’t understand this. Before the Board of Education meeting, I stopped in at McKinley School to see if anything about overcrowding was on the Town Plan and Zoning agenda. It wasn’t. And it hasn’t been. Parents and the Town are concerned about redistricting, which is something the Board of Education should be dealing with when they have the space to work with. But this issue is not about redistricting, it’s about overcrowding. That is a Town Plan crisis.