Source
At the December 4, 2024 joint meeting of the selectmen, the finance board and the school board, the dispute over the elementary school's capital projects played out at length. First Selectman Jeff Maguire told the Board of Education the school "is not a board of education building, it's a town asset, it's part of the capital," and that state law "says that the town owns the assets inside this building," while the board has "total control how you educate children" (~11:02-11:52). He demanded a five-year capital plan routed through the town's capital improvement committee, "just like every other group within this community" (~13:16). The Board of Education answered that the committee makes recommendations which then go to the selectmen for approval, so what was being proposed was that the school seek the selectmen's approval for its own capital money (~15:57). The superintendent set out the statutory position: by law the board of education "shall have the care, maintenance and operation of buildings, lands," and in other towns school capital does not go to the selectmen for approval (~28:47-43:07). Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B9O-4anXqk