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Ridgefield News
December 18, 1998

Town Selects Members of Huge New Advisory Committee

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Huge New Site Selection Committee Formed as Board of Selectmen and Board of Education Team Up to Solve School Crisis

But Will The Voters Be Convinced?


Mac Reid Selects Names Dec. 18 -- The Selectmen and the new Superintendent of Schools watched today as local citizens selected 34 wise and worthy citizens to serve on the new "advisory committee" which, to all intents and purposes, will be a new School Site Selection Committee.

Photo, left: Mac Reid, Editor of the Ridgefield Press, pulled the names randomly from the large canvas bag, while Hilda Monte, long-time secretary to many First Selectmen, tabulated the results. The meeting was in the downstairs conference room of the Town Hall.

This new "advisory" committee was formed from the debris of the two failed school initiatives; the East Ridge Middle School expansion of 1996-97, and the more recent Rt. 35 fiasco of 1998. Reviewing the alternatives to the two school sites, the Selectmen and the members of the Board of Education concluded that the problem was that the answers presented by the local officials were not trusted by the voters. Too many voters felt too many questions went unanswered, causing referendae to be turned down. This new site selection committee, of 34 voters, plus six ex officio members from elected boards with Dr. Wallace as a tie-breaker, should be of sufficient size and diversity to allay any concerns that the answers were pre-ordained nor presented without rigorous analytical preparation.

Morelli Explains Rules

The committee was selected at random at 10:00 am this morning. First Mr. Morelli, First Selectmen, explained the rules of the drawing. There were to be 34 names from from the bag, then the names of four alternates. (Six elected officials are non-voting members, and Dr. Wallace is the tie-breaker.) At about 10:15 a.m., Mac Reid, editor of the Ridgefield Press, drew the first fifteen names at random from the 70+ volunteers.

Selectman Jones Helps Select MembersOnce he tired, Marty Carr (photo, center) was selected from the audience to choose the last half of the team. First Selectman's Secretary Hilda Monte (left) kept score, while Selectman Mike Jones (right) tabulated the selection processes.


The selected names are:

Hilda Monte Spent Long Hours Preparing the Lists of Volunteers Hilda Monte, senior staffer at the Town Hall, helped orchestrate the lottery with hours of extra work, calling volunteers, collecting forms and typing materials.


Alternates Include:

 

first meeting plannedRidgefield Board of Education, joined today by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ralph Wallace and First Selectman Abe Morelli. Jane Hill, one of the volunteers selected for the committee, expressed satisfaction with the process. "I like the fact that the agenda is clearly set out," she said, "and with specific objectives and a specific deadline that everybody knows up front." John Delutio, of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, had volunteered for the committee but was not selected. He had no comment.


Click here for the pros and cons of the new school alternatives

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