Politics & Government

Greenwich High PTA Rallies Call for MISA Support

GHS PTA wants to use letter to RTM for community awareness.

The Greenwich High School (“GHS”) PTA believes there needs to be appropriate facilities to meet current educational specifications and physical needs of our students.  Facilities should be comparable with other school districts and should meet state guidelines.  The Board of Education’s capital budget for 2012/13 includes the phase 2 funding for the MISA project and the long term capital plan addresses other needed maintenance projects as well as the improvement of athletic facilities.  Completed in 1970, GHS is 42 years old.  We support the BOE’s capital plan which provides for upkeep and investment in the building and grounds to address the needs of the 2,700 students attending GHS and the nearly 300 faculty and staff who work there.   In addition, the building and campus are community resources that host thousands of other residents and visitors during the course of any given year.

By all accounts, GHS students have excelled in the arts in spite of overcrowded conditions and deficient instructional and performance space.  For the last several years, a large constituency of students, parents, teachers, alumni and community members has spoken for the need for improved musical instructional space and a new auditorium to address the inadequacies. The MISA project has been included in the Town’s CIP process for the last 5 years. The current music and instructional space facilities predate the addition of the 9th grade in 1989 and the significant increase in enrollment in the orchestra, band, chorus, electronic music and theatre classes over the ensuing decades.  The GHS PTA believes the merits of the project stand.

The GHS PTA would like to thank and acknowledge the members of the RTM Joint Committee who prepared the white paper and to all members who have invested their time in reviewing the MISA capital item.  We believe the following questions are critical:

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1) Can the Town afford MISA?   

MISA has followed the CIP process and is ranked as a priority item.  It is included in the Town’s financial model which meets BET objectives of a modest mill rate increase and the newly adopted debt policy.   MISA funding is in accordance with the modified PAYGO philosophy and will be bonded at likely favorable interest rates.  The condition the BET has placed on the release of funds following a review of bids received is an appropriate control should costs exceed estimates.

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We would add that any state reimbursement funding and the private fundraising effort through the Campaign for MISA are not factored into the model.

2) Does the finding of contaminated soil on the Hillside Rd. property preclude doing MISA?

We believe the Soils Remediation Project is being handled appropriately, and is a separate capital project which is independent of MISA.  The MISA budget is inclusive of environmental issues contained within the footprint and which impact construction.

The finding of the contaminated soil last summer was unexpected and necessitated immediate remedial action to restore the usage of a large section of campus. The cooperation of the Town’s BOE, DPW, Parks & Recreation and Department of Health as well state and federal agencies guided by the volunteers on the MISA Building Committee and the Board of Education was unparalleled and gave confidence to our entire GHS community that our school was safe. Our understanding is that the BET has set aside $7MM of the estimated liability in the capital and non-recurring fund. A plan is underway to characterize the site and plan for long term remediation, the costs of which are not known at this juncture.  

We respectfully ask for your support in favor of the proposed Board of Education operating and capital budget which includes the funding for MISA phase 2 funding.  It is time to move forward on this item.   

We appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

The GHS PTA Executive Board

Laura Erickson, Co-President

Jennifer Meredith, Co-President

Blakely Stinebaugh, Secretary

Lisa Graffeo, Treasurer

Patti Jomo, VP-Communications

Mareta Hamre, VP-Distributions

Mary Lou Waterman Tolette, VP-Parent Education

Celia Casale Fernandez, VP-Ways & Means

Leslie Breck, VP-Programs & Services

*Editor's note: The co-presidents of the Greenwich High School PTA—Laura Erickson and Jennifer Meredith—submitted this letter sent to all 230 members of the Representative Town Meeting, as a letter to the editor on behalf of the PTA executive board. The RTM will vote May 14 on the annual budget proposal which includes funding for the MISA project.


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