June 9 -- More than 50 Ridgefielders tonight heard a spirited discussion on the merits of locating the new middle school on the Ridgefield High School site. Planners and architects explained the careful planning that has been done. Nonetheless, a number of residents expressed concern that not every issue had been completely resolved. Other audience members and town officials expressed strong support for the upcoming referendum, feeling that the need for a new school was urgent and that the current proposal is thorough and solid. The meeting also officially set the date of the referendum for Saturday, June 19. Here [photo,left] Bob Rogers of Antonazzi Associates, developers of the school plan, describes the innovative design for the new grade 6-8 middle school.
The new middle school is to be located on the site of the current Ridgefield High School, just west of the RHS parking lot, where the tennis courts are now located. Since the site slopes down from Rt. 116, an innovative design has been developed to match the contours of the slope. Closest to the road, one large one-story building will serve as a commons wing, containing the arrival area, media center, gym, auditorium, cafeteria, and other common facilities. The common building will be connected by two bridges to a three-story academic wing, located further down the slope, so that the two buildings rise to the same elevation. The academic wing will be organized with the 6th grade on the highest floor, and below it the 7th and 8th grade floors.
School Superintenent Dr. Ralph Wallace [photo, center left, in light suit] attended the hearing and spoke eloquently in support of the current plan. Dr. Wallace was particularly effective in addressing parents' concerns about housing middle schoolers with older high schoolers on the same site. The schools head explained that the two populations would be kept strictly separate, with the two sites normally closed off from each other, and that the different schedules of the schools would insure there was no mixing of the two groups. Dr. Wallace explained that many school districts in Connecticut had middle school and high schools on the same site, indeed in some towns they share the same building, with no ill effects. He added that his wife teaches at a New York school where the middle schoolers and high school grades are in the same building, and that any side effects of the mixing are positive, with older students often helping out and serving as role models for the younger children. Read Dr. Wallace's full statement on the school proposal.
Democratic Selectman Mike Jones [photo, left] expressed his strong support for the school proposal. He stressed that the town has the need, as validated by several independent studies; the right site, as selected by a committee of 41 townspeople; a great plan, developed by a "savvy building committee;" and an affordable plan.
On the economics of enhancing our educational system, Jones stated: "It is cheaper to build this school than to see our educational system deteriorate. If we allow our schools to deteriorate, we are imposing a huge but hidden tax on ourselves in reduced home valuations. Make no mistake: our public schools are the economic engine that determine most of the value of our homes. Everything else, from our shady streets to our historic Main Street, is trivial compared to the importance of a good school system." Read Selectman Jones statement on the new school plan.
About 60 people attended tonight's hearing, held in the East Ridge Middle School cafteria. Several speakers expressed concern that not "all the i's were dotted nor the t's crossed" in the plan, with particular uncertainties remaining about traffic and the school's sewage disposal system. Town officials expressed their strong belief that the current plan is well thought out, that every imaginable contingency has been addressed, and that voters should give their support to the upcoming referendum. Further delay in approving the school will jeapordize some $6 million in state funding for the school, and probably result in another year's delay on top of the two years already lost due to mismanagement of the school construction process. The prospect of double sessions for Ridgefield's elementary and middle school students will weigh heavily on many voters' minds as we approache yet another referendum on resolving the town's school dilemma.
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