Stamford Voters Chose Electrical Upgrade Over Carpets
STAMFORD, Vt. - Voters gave the OK to all but one of the spending articles at Monday night's annual school district meeting.On the recommendation of the School Board, an article on the warrant requesting $16,684 to re-carpet the classrooms and hallways was defeated.
Board Chairwoman Cynthia Lamore said on Tuesday that the money would go toward replacing an old electrical panel that had caused problems last month.
"Everything is safe, everything functions properly," said Lamore. "But the panel is very, very old."
The school was evacuated on Feb. 6 when an overheated electrical wire began burning, filling the building with an acrid smell. There was no fire and no one was injured, but it brought the condition of the aging electrical box to light.
By then, the warrant had already been completed and the wording couldn't be changed, said Lamore.
The carpeting is getting worn but replacing it is not a security or safety issue, she said, so to be fair to the taxpayers, the board decided to recommend against approving that article and to put the $16,000 toward the electrical upgrade as emergency spending.
Lamore said there was a good discussion at the school district portion of Town Meeting but she was "disappointed at the showing of parents. [The school] is where we put a lot of taxpayer money."
Many of the town's voters left after the annual Town Meeting ended around 9 p.m.; the school district portion lasted about 40 minutes.
District voters approved appropriating $1,488,873 to support the school for the coming fiscal year; they also OK'ed the installation of an ultraviolet light for the school's water system to comply with state regulations.
UV light can break down the genetic structure of viruses and bacteria in water, disinfecting it.
Also passed were appropriations of $5,100 to complete the replacement of exterior doors on the school building and $4,720 for replacement of the doors' hardware.
Voters will vote for three school director positions; incumbents Lamore and Janice A. Farinon are both on the ballot. Jeremy R. Sullivan-Bol is running for the final year of a two-year term.
