BET OKs $2.1M for North Mianus
Partial funding of repairs only fraction of requested $8.1M
GREENWICH — The Board of Estimate and Taxation’s approval of only part of the money requested for emergency repairs at North Mianus School on Friday morning was bipartisan — but not unanimous — showing the BET’s continued split over school funding.
School district officials expressed concerns that they received only $2.1 million of the $8.1 million they requested, saying that not having the full amount could delay the work at North Mianus, which was damaged in February by a collapsed ceiling and flood from broken pipes.
“When we’re talking about timelines, every day counts. It’s not only on the front end of a construction project. Right now, we know we’re expecting our construction firm is probably going to have materials coming in slowly because of COVID. It also has an impact on the back end of the project.” Toni Jones, Superintendent of Schools
“When we’re talking about timelines, every day counts,” Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said at the meeting. “It’s not only on the front end of a construction project. Right now, we know we’re expecting our construction firm is probably going to have materials coming in slowly because of COVID. It also has an impact on the back end of the project.”
The $2.1 million allocation now goes to the Representative Town Meeting for a vote at its Monday meeting.
The construction work is already slated to go into the fall, which means at least some students will remain at an alternate space in the new school year, Jones said.
The RTM must approve the funding before the contracts for the project are signed, she said. And without approval for the full $8.1 million, it may be difficult to finalize the project quickly, Jones said.
The BET has said it intends to fully fund the emergency repairs at North Mianus. But Republican members objected to approving the larger amount before the school board determines the price tag for the project and before the bids come in.
BET members pledged to hold special meetings if necessary, but allocations also require the approval of the RTM, which typically considers only the town budget in May and then does not meet in July or August.
But BET Chair Michael Mason said that RTM Moderator Tom Byrne and Moderator Pro Tempore Alexis Voulgaris contacted him via email and said the RTM would hold a special meeting if needed.
A motion by the BET’s Democratic caucus to increase the allocation to $8.1 million failed in a 6-6 vote with no Republican support. And in the vote on the $2.1 million, BET Democrats Leslie Moriarty, Miriam Kreuzer and Laura Erickson all abstained.
Only partially reopened
North Mianus School remains only partially reopened after a plaster ceiling collapsed in February, breaking pipes and flooding part of the building.
BET Democrats, North Mianus parents and the school district pushed for the $8.1 million, which got pushback from BET Republicans on Friday. Mason said there had been efforts to “scare parents” and to put out a narrative that the Republicans didn’t support repairing the school.
“We’re not doing our community any good,” Mason said of the back-and-forth. “Everyone in town knows we’re going to fund this project.”
Other Republicans agreed. “I would encourage us to follow process here,” BET Republican Debra Hess said. “Do the right thing. Be accountable on both sides and do what’s right for the community and for the children. Stop with the name-calling and saying we’re obstructionists. We all want the same thing. We all care about these kids. … Stop
all this nonsense, please.”
William Drake, a Republican, said the BET’s “longstanding practice is to appropriate taxpayers’ money in a manner that is thorough and careful,” and to obtain an estimate on the work from an “architect or engineer.”
Approving an $8.1 million allocation would send contractors a signal about their bids, Mason and Drake said.
“This board has never, not once, allocated capital in such a preliminary manner,” Drake said.
But Board of Education Chair Peter Bernstein called out the BET, saying “the discussion that’s happened in the paper rather than at your meetings was disappointing on many, many levels.” He was referring to an op-ed submitted by the BET Republican caucus to local media about the issue.
In a statement after Friday’s vote, Bernstein said, “While the outcome of today’s meeting was predictable courtesy of the highly unusual letter to the editor from the Republican BET members, it is still disappointing that they failed to listen to the community and follow their own process. In the end it is the students of North Mianus School who will truly be affected by their actions.”
Past projects
Throughout Friday’s meeting, BET Democrats said there was no purpose served in delaying funding of the project.
The BET “moved very quickly” in past emergency situations, Kreuzer said, such as when the performing arts center and science wing flooded at Greenwich High.
“We have to show our town that we can work together to help rather than hinder,” Kreuzer said.
BET Democrat Beth Krumeich added, “It appears that there is obstruction being put forth here rather than supporting what the professional educators, what the professional construction managers and what the professional engineers and architects are encouraging us to do.”
But BET Vice Chair Karen Fassuliotis, a Republican, took exception to the term “obstruction” and said that approving a smaller allocation was the proper process to follow. She called the Board of Education’s timeline “aggressive” and said she hoped it could be met.
“I find it ridiculous, quite frankly, that we are being called obstructionists and we are being called people who are delaying a project that hasn’t even begun yet,” Fassuliotis said.