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Schools

No School Reconfiguration Next Year

The Board of Education voted to defer any decision-making that would change the school system's structure.

The Board of Education voted to defer making any changes to the structure of the school system at least until after the 2010-11 academic year.

Lyn Merrill, Sandi Rose, Katherine McGerald, Paul Sutherland, Austin Drukker and Joe Buzcek voted in favor of the motion, which specified that there also would be no redistricting next year in grades K-5, leaving the possibility open for middle schools, which have unequal class sizes.

John Palermo, Russell Katz and Richard Steinhart voted against the motion, which Katz tried unsuccessfully to defer until the board's next meeting on Nov. 23. They could make a better decision after next week's joint budget planning meeting with the Boards of Selectmen and Finance, Katz said.

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The reconfiguration discussion has continued for weeks as board members grapple with projected enrollment declines at the elementary level.

When the motion to defer reconfiguration passed after 10 p.m., the healthy showing of parents in the audience applauded. Many of them showed up because Keith Miller—a school board candidate who is down by two votes to Irene Burgess pending a recount on Tuesday—presented a memo arguing that closing an elementary school would reap financial benefits. Most other parents continued to advocate for slow, thoughtful action and smaller class sizes.

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The parents, who applauded all comments from the board about thorough decision-making, also got the chance to applaud for a team from East Ridge Middle School, which told the school board about the weekend they spent in Washington, D.C. to accept a Blue Ribbon award for excellence from the U.S. Department of Education.

"It's an honor to be there in that school every day," ERMS Principal Marty Fiedler said.

There was also ample applause for outgoing board members McGerald and Buzcek, who both got copies of "Ridgefield at 300."

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