"...public decisions that should not be made in private"

The following letter appears in today's Eastern Gazette. It is a (slightly) revised version of this earlier post.

The Eastern Gazette
P.O. Box 306
Dexter, ME 04939

To the Editor,

You can'’t believe everything that you hear, but there are times when you remember hearing something you should have believed.

Not too long ago, and on separate occasions, I was told by reliable sources, that there are considerations being discussed by the Superintendent for possible uses of the $362,000.00 architect'’s fees which could be reimbursed to MSAD #46 upon a positive vote for the new school project. The dollars represent the costs incurred by the District in the studies, and related site and concept planning, leading up to referendum vote for a new k-8 school. These funds were provided by the voters of MSAD #46 over the last several budget cycles.

Some of the alleged "“dreams"” include the retention of the Abbott Hill site and the creation of an additional high school athletic field complex, new athletic equipment, bleachers for various sports, perhaps even lighting for one or more high school athletic fields; so on September 26^th, I sent Mr. Jordan the following questions by email:

• Will the reimbursed funds be used exclusively for the new school project?
• Will the reimbursed funds be returned to the District taxpayers?
• Are there any discussions about using these reimbursed funds for other District projects?

He responded on October 4^th, "“We have a meeting later this month with the Financial Department of Major School Construction Projects. Scott Brown has indicated that each project is somewhat unique depending on state share, local share, total project costs, etc. At that meeting we will begin to look at how the financial aspect of this project, including architectural reimbursements, will work for SAD #46. The school board has not discussed reimbursed funds waiting until we have more information from the DOE".

My purpose for sharing this information with you is simple. I believe that the $362,000.00 belongs to the citizens of MSAD #46 and was authorized by them for the expressed use in the preparation for the new school project. If there is a successful referendum and subsequent reimbursement of these funds, it should be first used to offset any additional local costs for the site acquisition, or any other voter approved new school local cost. Any remaining reimbursement should be returned to the communities in reductions of the local share of the District's assessments in the subsequent budget.

These are public decisions that should not be made in private. I urge you to make your opinions known while there is still time to influence the outcome.

Sincerely,
Arthur Jette
Cambridge