School board election held to fund roof repairs and replacements.
This story was updated at 2:57 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12 to include comments made by Westfield Board of Education President Rich Mattessich. The hotly-debated $13.6 million bond referendum to fund district-wide roof repairs and replacement passed Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2,700 to 1,503, with 19 percent of voters casting their ballots. Work on Westfield High School's roof, which carries the most expensive price tag – an estimated $4 million – and is in the worst shape, with 83 percent requiring removal and replacement, is expected to be completed during the summer of 2013. Work on one other school is also expected to be completed during the same time frame. The remaining buildings will be worked on during the summer of 2014. In September, residents …
Polls close at 9 p.m.
Voter turnout is mixed across Westfield as residents are asked to cast their ballots for or against a $13.6 million bond referendum that would fund roof repairs and replacement on 12 Westfield school district-owned buildings. While voter turnout is typically low for school board elections, Westfield's Sept. 24th election in which residents soundly defeated a $16.9 million bond referendum that would have funded both the roof work and a lighted turf field, saw an uncharacteristically-high 24 percent of residents head to the polls. Patch surveyed six polling locations throughout town Tuesday afternoon and found a wide-range of answers when asking poll workers, "How is voter turnout today?" Poll workers at the Westfield Memorial Library said …
Polls are busier than past school board elections, workers say.
After months of debate, today Westfield residents have the chance to vote for or against the $16.9 million bond referendum proposed by the Westfield Board of Education that would fund two multi-million dollar capital projects—district-wide roof repairs and a lighted turf field—bundled into one bond referendum. While turnout has been mixed, with voters coming out in large numbers at McKinley School and fewer at Jefferson, poll workers agreed that the overall response has been greater than for past school board elections. While the bond referendum has been polarizing, poll workers unanimously agreed voters have been "polite and courteous." James Zavetz, working the polls at McKinley School, said as of noon, voter turnout was "very high," …
Doogie Howser
11:21 am on Thursday, December 13, 2012
20-yrs from now when the roofs again need a full replacement, I would expect this to be bonded again. Capital improvements are not supposed to be paid for and expensed in a single year's operating budget. Why should today's taxpayer have to fund 100% of something that benefits the community for 20 years? more ›