Letter: Feasibility Study Committee failed

I represented Hancock on the ConVal Feasibility Study Committee. As all are aware, we voted not to recommend the withdrawals of Dublin and Francestown from the ConVal School District at our Sept. 12 meeting.

In my opinion, we, as a committee, failed in our mandate to assess the feasibility and suitability of Dublin’s and/or Francestown’s withdrawing from the ConVal School District and to make a reasonable and quantifiable recommendation for or against said withdrawal(s). We elected a chair based on experience with a previous feasibility study. This person was also embedded in the education community, biased toward the education community and unwilling to pass on legitimate information requests to the education community. Two of my requests were denied outright by this chair. The business administrator never had a chance to state whether or not he could fulfill them.

We endured five months of obfuscation, obscuration and, dare I suggest it, obstruction, representing a waste of 20-plus people’s time and energy – 18 town representatives, the SAU administrative assistant and often the SAU superintendent and/or business administrator. Let’s not forget the Dublin and Francestown education committees and the members of the public who attended the meetings.

We had a terrific model to analyze the data and run different scenarios. As of Sept. 12, we still lacked key data. My professional experience in accounting and financial analysis (30-plus years) gives me some comfort with “ballpark” figures. We were still in the parking lot. We were not ready to vote that day. We should be ashamed that we have treated our neighbors in Dublin and Francestown in this manner. I know I am.

Betsy Villaume

Hancock