Woodbridge School Vote: Oct. 13 | The Quinnipiac Post

Woodbridge Voters to Decide on $118.5M Beecher Road School Plan

Woodbridge Voters Decide Oct. 13 on $118.5 Million Plan

WOODBRIDGE, CT — Woodbridge voters will decide Oct. 13 whether to spend $118.5 million on a new Beecher Road School and a central office for the Board of Education, after selectmen voted Sept. 23 to put the question on the ballot. The measure would also let the town borrow to cover whatever grants do not pay.

The Board of Selectmen split 4-2, Patch reported. First Selectman Mica Cardozo voted yes, as did Deputy First Selectman Steven Munno and Selectmen Lauren Francese and Maria Madonick. Andrea Urbano and Amey Marrella voted no.

Special Town Meeting Set for Oct. 6

Residents get a chance to debate the spending and borrowing plan first, at a special town meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in The Center Gymnasium, 4 Meetinghouse Lane. Scheduling that meeting took a second 4-2 vote along the same lines, according to Patch.

The referendum itself is at the same gym on Tuesday, Oct. 13, with polls open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Voters will be asked to approve the $118.5 million appropriation for the Beecher Road School project and the bonds and notes, up to that amount, that would pay for the share grants leave uncovered.

Proposal Covers School and Central Office

The town has described the project as a new elementary school built on the current Beecher campus. The resolution the selectmen adopted also takes in a new central office for the school board, Patch reported.

Selectmen skipped a full reading of the resolution because copies had been handed out to the audience, according to Patch. Munno made the motion to adopt it and Madonick seconded.

Forums Led Up to the Selectmen’s Vote

The vote came after several weeks of public sessions. In an Aug. 21 notice, the town said selectmen would hear a financial presentation and talk through the referendum calendar at an Aug. 26 special meeting, shown live on WGATV79 and recorded. It also set Coffee & Conversation sessions at the Center Café on Aug. 26 and Sept. 9, and community forums at the Woodbridge Town Library on Aug. 29 and at Beecher Road School on Sept. 15.

Under the resolution, the town clerk will write a short explanation of the ballot question, and Cardozo may put out more material on the project once the town attorney signs off.

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