To the Editor:
During his Gettysburg Address of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln (presumably inspired by abolitionist and minister Theodore Parker) said, “that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
As a member of the Wallingford Board of Education, this quote is inspirational to my duties and responsibilities during my first term as an elected official. The voters of our great town elected me to represent them. “For the people” is what drives me.
In my opinion, the Wallingford Board of Education needs to immediately consider a contingency plan should the high school consolidation project prove to be the “dead in the water” plan that was previously foretold. For the sake of the children whose educational experience has not improved during the multi-year deliberations that have taken place without a site – they deserve such a contingency plan, and closure (finally).
We need to put politics aside and put the parents, students, and taxpayers first. And while they all may have competing interests at various levels, the prolonged nothing is not productive. We need to acknowledge the reality that there may be no centralized location to fit one high school of the magnitude previously (and prematurely) voted upon by a prior Board of Education.
And at the end of the day, there may be no viable location anywhere in town at all, for a high school of the previously voted on size. One thing is certain, we cannot continue looking for this pie-in-the-sky property to the detriment of our students while they are forced to learn in dilapidated buildings.
There is always more than one way to approach something. Residents have suggested to me that we do not have to build or re-build all at once. Some have suggested to me perhaps we renovate Sheehan and rebuild Lyman Hall. Some have suggested construction phases and so many more very reasonable and feasible ideas. The people are speaking. I hear you!
The taxpayers, the residents, the students, the parents, the teachers, all stakeholders, and community members. You do not feel included in the ed specs for the one high school, nor do you feel you are being heard regarding your wish to maintain two smaller campuses. It is incumbent upon the Wallingford Board of Education to put our brains together and triumph for the people who elected us! It is possible to incorporate all of the new information and invest in two smaller high schools. Let’s coordinate! Let’s plan! And let’s set deadlines!
Let’s not be sitting two years from now with no property identified, and no plan for maintenance and renovation. To the residents, parents, taxpayers of Wallingford, and the students of the Wallingford Public Schools, I will continue to advocate for a contingency plan on the agenda! I will continue to push for transparency and public input along the way, as a government by the people, for the people, would require no less.
While the Wallingford Board of Education remains entrenched in the issue of one high school, there are many other areas of focus that still need work: overall transparency, the middle school schedule, energy efficiency, better spending practices, school safety, school policy, the exploration of more grant opportunities, our district’s Ten-Year-Waterfall Plan, and the list goes on. As such, I believe that my work on the Board is not finished. Therefore, I would like to formally announce that I will be seeking a second term on the Wallingford Board of Education. I will continue to embody a candidate that is “for the people,” and hope to have the people of Wallingford’s support in this upcoming campaigning season.
Caroline Raynis
Wallingford, CT
Raynis is a member of the Wallingford Board of Education