About an hour after voters officially passed the plan to convert two elementary schools to magnet schools, Mayor Kevin Cavanagh leaned on the counter at the home of Elaine Maynard-Adams with a relieved look on his face.
“We’ve been at this for five years,” he said, recalling meetings with members of the General Assembly and state Board of Education.
New Londoners approved the $61 million plan to rebuild Winthrop and Nathan Hale schools by a near 2-to-1 margin, 1,006 to 596.
According to the measure passed by the City Council in February, the state will reimburse the city for 95 percent of the construction costs.
After the polls closed, Maynard-Adams, the vice president of the Board of Education, hosted a small victory party at her home attended by political allies such as Councilor Margaret Curtin, Republican school board member James Pearce, Joe Abrams, head of the New London Housing Authority, and Maggie Clouet, the superintendent’s wife.
However, Christopher Clouet, who tirelessly defended the plan since it was announced last summer, was conspicuously absent. The superintendent was in Botswana last week as part of a scheduled school accreditation trip, but nevertheless e-mailed a prepared statement announcing his pleasure that “A majority of voters have expressed their support of the board’s plan to improve our school facilities and programs.
“The ‘Yes’ vote sends a message that New London believes in a positive future and cares about our community’s children,” he continued.
Clouet’s wife reached him via cell phone and reported that he was “excited.”
Also beaming that night was Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, who, along with Sen. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford, and Rep. Ted Moukawsher, D-Groton, lobbied extensively for the legislature to pass the plan in its 2007 session.
“[Winning the referendum] validates that we did the right thing in session,” he said.
‘Buffoons’ and ‘Naysayers’
The debate preceding the referendum was among the more rancorous in the city’s recent history.
On newspaper reader comments sections and on New London Issues, an independent blog, school board members were repeatedly called “buffoons” and characterized as chipmunks.
Those who disagreed with the magnet plan were offended at being called “naysayers.”
As they have for several budget referenda, “Yes” and “No” signs sprouted on lawns around the city, especially in the vote-rich Sixth District.
The opposition, led by former Councilors William Cornish and Charles Frink, presented public-access programs encouraging citizens to cast “No” votes.
Susan Connolly, a member of the school board, said “both sides learned a lot of lessons” during the run-up to last week’s vote.
“The school board could have done a better job presenting the information,” she said.
Bad Attendance
While not the most poorly attended referendum in recent city history—the last charter revision vote eked out 12 percent of the electorate—the magnet plan vote,
despite the publicity, only
managed a meager 16 percent turnout.
Curtin blamed the long polling day for the small amount of voters.
“We should think about making the referendum from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.,” she said.
Even so, both sides campaigned in the weeks before the polls opened.
The “No” supporters manned the vote-heavy southern end of the city and erected an easel with literature buttressing their side.
The New London Democrats printed signs and knocked on doors, again mostly in the sixth and seventh voting wards.
Kenric Hanson, a member the New London Greens, also campaigned in favor of the plan’s passage.
And independent of traditional political outlets, members of New London’s underground music scene sent messages around MySpace supporting the plan.
Odd Couples
The magnet school referendum also made for some hitherto unseen political alliances in New London.
The city’s three elected Republicans, Councilors Rob Pero and Adam Sprecace, along with Pearce, supported the plan, while the GOP town committee did not take an official position on the matter.
Sprecace, who scored a victory in delaying the original vote in January so people could study it further, struck a conciliatory tone with GOP members who voted “No.”
“We owe it to those people to keep a close eye on the plan as it moves forward,” he said.
Pero maintained his argument that his support was based in the financial aspects of the plan and said the schools’ themes, which will most likely be arts and science, “should excite some of the kids.”
The Democrats, who were fractured at the time of the February vote, united behind the “Yes” faction.
Deputy Mayor Wade Hyslop, who voted against the plan, nevertheless supported the magnet plan in the end.
Councilor John Maynard, the most vocal Democrat against the plan, changed his mind in the weeks leading up to the vote.
School board member Elizabeth Garcia-Gonzalez passed on the BOE’s vote in support of the magnet plan.
“This was a good win,” Curtin said. “It was a long time coming.”
While relishing the victory, Maynard-Adams said the school board now needs to send a proposal that will include the themes of the school and the designs to the state by June.
“A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes while all this has been happening,” she said. “We could not wait until the 11th hour—we have a lot of work to do.”
One Referendum Down, Two To Go?
As votes were still being cast last Tuesday, the city was rife with rumors of yet another petition circulating in hopes of staging a referendum on the council’s controversial decision to sell a piece of waterfront property to Cross Sound Ferry.
If it comes to pass, the bipartisan alliances formed over the magnet plan would likely dissolve.
Pero said he would support a petition over the sale of the land.
Also, if recent history is any guide, the 2008-2009 budget will most likely be put on the ballot in the fall.
A referendum costs roughly $23,000 to stage.