John Amport

RSD 17 is more like Clinton, Westbrook or Haddam than your routine town school system. It is a governmental entity unto itself. The RSD 17 Board members along with the Superintendent are the key points of contact.

In the past, most of the focus has been on maintaining open lines of communication with the Superintendent. That is fine, but I will open lines of communication with Killingworth’s representatives on the RSD 17 Board. I feel this would be more effective than the past efforts of having liaisons.

I feel it is essential that these channels be opened to facilitate a broad range of information and issues. It is more important than ever that Board members be kept abreast of Town Capital Plans and Budgets to allow them to have greater perspective on the fiscal impact of the RSD17 Budget.

Conversely, I feel it is essential that the Board of Selectmen is aware of the many issues with which the RSD 17 Board must deal. As with the regional associations of which we are a member, I am sure that there are opportunities to work more collaboratively to our mutual benefit. In my answer to the next question, you will see how working together served both RSD 17 and the Town when we collaborated to produce a video taped debate that was shown throughout the 2005 election campaign on public access.