30 September—Can Regional School District 20 have set a new record or two in the three months since the marriage made in heaven of three-town Wamogo to loner Litchfield was officially consummated on 1 July?

Consider first that in its three months of connubial chaos Region 20 has had three chairmen. Well, technically perhaps only two chairs, since the chair during the matchmaking, Emily Cole, was thrown off the board by Goshen’s Republican troglodytes around the time of the wedding. (That’s a gruesome story in itself.)

You may have read about Morris resident Andrew Tita’s resignation from the Region 20 chair in the 14 September disquisition.

The latest chair, Tiffany Parkhouse of Warren, accepted the thankless Herculean onus of leading the board through its honeymoon from hell only last week. Best of luck and sympathy to a good soldier. She’ll need it.

Perhaps if a Litchfield resident were to be strapped into the Region 20 chair, things might take a turn for the better. Of course, Litchfield all by itself outvotes its three little neighbors. And, as it happens, the loner is the loaner. And not a happy creditor.

The fiscal problems are being heaped on former Wamogo and Litchfield Superintendent Chris Leone’s back. It’s convenient for the school board and other critics that he’s not around to defend himself. Not that his contribution to the nascent region’s painful predicament wasn’t considerable, to be sure.

But since Leone’s surprise and abrupt resignation the week before the big wedding, checks have been signed, payments made without authorization, among other irregularities and screw-ups. Ignorance? Ineptitude? Both?

There’s a referendum tentatively scheduled for early December which it is hoped will at least straighten out Region 20’s fiscal folly. Put too simply, they’re talking about cutting a million dollars, largely in personnel, to make Litchfield whole. Good start. But only a start. They should go for two million in cuts starting with administrators and going down to teachers’ aides. And that’s only personnel.

People pushing for the consolidation of Litchfield and Wamogo emphasized how it would improve education and—incidentally—reduce each town’s education budget. In reality, Region 20 was approved only because it was certain to reduce each town’s education budget and—incidentally—improve education.

Think back a bit. Remember the controversies about a name for the new region, and colors and a mascot? Well, they were strategic distractions cleverly intended to keep everybody’s focus off the really important things . . .