25 August—Depending upon which municipal and education officials you talk to, Jon Torrant’s Good idea for Region 20 is being seriously considered or on the back burner. Returning the Litchfield Intermediate School to the town is a win-win-win-win for the four towns in the new region, so especially given the fiscal privy the school board and its advisers have dumped the region into, disposition of the LIS should be moved to the front burner by all concerned without delay.

While not discounting the involvement of the former superintendent, such as it may have been, the financial professionals on the volunteer Region 20 board and especially the advisers who were paid big bucks to make sure shit didn’t happen should have at the very least caught the burgeoning financial shortfall while performing their due diligence. Since they must have been asleep on the seat, then, the advisers should (be made to) refund a big part of their fee to the victimized region.

Meanwhile, Regional District 20 must deal with the (surprise!) deficit. So in a month or so there’ll be a referendum in which the four towns will naturally vote their own interests, with Litchfield by itself being able to outvote the three others. Which it will doubtless do. In its own interest.

So what’s the district doing to prepare the public for the referendum? Well, here’s an email sent a couple of days ago to the chosen, those lucky enough to be in the region’s address book:

As you see, it’s about a survey with a link contained in the email. So if you’re not one of the chosen stakeholders but you want to participate in the survey, here’s the link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl4Odys53sNJrNM8ET3WOxmU2Trnm7xyCLO6Fbqv7vsJLV9Q/viewform?pli=1

The survey certainly is imperfect and not particularly useful. For starters, presumably it’s not being sent to all the stakeholders, like taxpayers not in the RSD 20 address book. (Or don’t they qualify as stakeholders?) And why, for instance, are respondents required to submit their email addresses? Then, to be picky, who the hell came up with “stakeholders” anyway? And “Go Bobcats!” as part of the survey? Was it written by an Intermediate School pupil?

But it’s a baby step in the right direction.

If, on the other hand, you value anonymity or just want to read the survey, this is it:

Community Feedback

Thank you for taking the time to complete this important survey. Your thoughts and opinions are very important to us and to the success of the Region 20 School District. The Board of Education is committed to being transparent with you as we continue to successfully build the best school district for our students, staff and families. Go Bobcats! This survey will close on August 30th.

* Indicates required question

* Email ______________________________________

Which Town in the district do you reside?
Goshen ______
Litchfield ______
Morris ______
Warren ______
Other: ______

What grade level do you have current students? (check all that apply)
Elementary (Pre K-5) ______
Middle (6-8) ______
High (9-12) ______

How many of your children are graduates of Region 6/Litchfield?
1 ______
2 ______
3 ______
4 ______
5 or more ___
none ______

With the start of the new district, what are the top 3 topics that you are optimistic about
Your answer ____________________________________________________________

With the start of the new district, what are the top 3 issues of concern for you?
Your answer ____________________________________________________________

* Did you know that the shortfall in the approved Region 20 budget for 2024-25 is mainly in the area of critical capital improvements related to merging/rebranding and necessary debt service?
Yes ______
No ______

* Do you know that Region 20 is limited to borrowing money only to cover capital improvements and debt service?
Yes ______
No ______

*Are you in favor of supporting the approval of Region 20 absorbing the Litchfield Debt of $1.817M as presented in the original Education Plan?
Yes ______
No ______

* Are you in favor of supporting the referendum to approve Region 20’s plan for bonding, not to exceed $900k to fund essential capital improvements and ensure long-term growth and success?
Yes ______
No ______