Aug. 29 --In a stunning upset, Ridgefield voters today turned down a proposal to spend some $600,000 on initial design costs for the badly needed lower middle school. Town and school officials were surprised and dismayed at the result, especially since a similar referendum in March had approved spending more than $7 MILLION to purchase the so-called Ippoliti property for the same school. (Photo, left: Voting officials record referendum results at East Ridge Middle School)
Today's referendum results:
| For The Proposal | Against The Proposal | |
|---|---|---|
| Votes | 845 | 1250 |
| % of Voters | 40.3% | 59.7% |
Officials noted that turnout for today's referendum was just under 2,100 voters, less than 15% of the registered total. The turnout for the March referendum, which approved the site purchase, was about 50% higher, at 3,191 voters, or 22% of the total registereds. Dismayed town and school officials wondered where the parents of the town's elementary school students were during today's voting, as the result is certain to kill any chance of a new school opening in time for the 2000 school year. Overcrowding in Ridgefield's elementary schools has reached a level that many consider disastrous, and the new school had been seen as the only way out of the dilemma. Today's turndown of funds needed to design the school puts the whole project in jeopardy. One observer noted that there are probably 2,000 - 3,000 Ridgefield parents with children now in public elementary schools, but only 845 voters turned out to support the new lower middle school. "When these parents are complaining about classes of more than 30 students, and possibly double shifts, in 2000 and 2001, they should remember today's vote," one Ridgefielder noted as the vote was tallied. (Photo, right: First Selectman Abe Morelli, School Board Chairman Linda Bunyan, and Mary Miller observe the reading of the results from the voting machines)
Democratic Selectman Barbara Manners, while dismayed by the referendum's defeat, stressed that she would work hard to find a way to regroup and get the new school back on track. "We will quickly sit down with our legal counsel, and explore how we can get voters to reconsider funding for this badly needed school," Manners said tonight. "We've come this far with the full support of Ridgefield taxpayers; I really believe the town wants to see this project thorugh to completion," she added.
First Selectman Abe Morelli was more pessimistic. "This means we cannot make a Fall 2000 opening for the new school," he said. Morelli was clearly at a loss as to how to proceed and stated, "I don't know where to go from here. We need get some legal advice on what options are available." (Photo, left: Disappointment at the referendum rejection is evident on the faces of school board chair Linda Bunyan and First Selectman Abe Morelli.)
Democratic schol board member Bob Opotzner observed that it was important to know if today's vote is a sign that voters are changing their attitude toward the school project, or "merely a sign of voter apathy -- an assumption by supporters that it would pass without the need for a big turnout?" But Opotzner added, "This school is needed and it is needed now! Without the new school, we will face a crisis in September 2000."
| Referendum | Vote FOR | Vote AGAINST | Total Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/21/98 | 1,624 | 1,567 | 3,191 |
| 8/29/98 | 845 | 1,250 | 2,095 |
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