The new cap on spending commits the school to only use the remaining balance of this year's legal budget on the turf appeal.
After voters in three Island towns objected to the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s continued funding of its lawsuit against Oak Bluffs over an artificial turf field, the school committee voted Friday to place a cap on further spending as it seeks a settlement with the town.
The school is suing the Oak Bluffs planning board after the board denied the school’s plan to put in a new turf infield and replace the existing track. But the school committee vowed earlier this week to resolve the case after West Tisbury and Chilmark voted against the school’s operating budget in protest of the legal spending, and Tisbury passed a non-binding request to stop funding the battle.
“The committee has resolved and directed the school attorney to engage in settlement discussions,” committee member Kris O’Brien announced at a special meeting Friday morning, following an 80-minute executive session with Brian Winner, the committee’s attorney, and athletic facility designer Chris Huntress.
Mr. Huntress clarified after the executive session that he was not charging the school district for his time in the meeting.
The new cap on spending commits the school to use no more on the turf case than the funds remaining in this year’s legal budget, which finance manager Suzanne Cioffi estimated will be roughly $20,000 when the fiscal year ends June 30.
The committee also voted not to tap the 2024 fiscal year legal budget for any further funding on the case.
“We will spend only up to the available funds in the legal line of the 2023 budget,” chair Robert Lionette said.
The high school committee has been waiting for a land court decision on its request for a summary judgment in the case, which appeals the Oak Bluffs planning board’s 2022 denial, on a tie vote, of the school’s proposal to add an artificial turf infield to its running track as part of a long-planned overhaul of track and field facilities.
After directing Mr. Winner to engage in settlement talks, the committee agreed to meet twice weekly in the high school library to keep tabs on the process.
The next posted meeting is Monday at 6 p.m., followed by one Thursday at 6 p.m. in a schedule that will repeat through June.
Comments
It’s important to note that
Susan Desmarais Oak BluffsIt’s important to note that much of todays meeting was in executive session. The current plan is for future meetings to be as well. While I recognize that sometime that’s important I question it’s necessity in this case. Taxpayer monies are being spent, transparency is being lost. And donors, including anonymously, can fund the MVRHS fight. I asked this info be made public.
Kudos to Skip Manter for bringing up the need for transparency. Islanders deserve to know what’s happening in the contentious process. A lot is at stake, as such I hope Aquinnah will vote to zero fund the school budget. At this point it’s the only way for voters to exert pressure for the lawsuit to be brought to a close.
You are willing to lay off
Confused IslandYou are willing to lay off teachers to get your way? You all elected these people. Use your votes to remove them or better yet step up and do recall petitions. And then run for these offices. I am sure you will find it super easy. But, holding kids and teachers hostage? So wrong. Step up and get rid of the folks you don’t like and then fill their seats. If you don’t want to step up, stop complaining.
I am deeply disappointed that
Anna V Cotton VINEYARD HAVENI am deeply disappointed that anyone is continuing to call for zero funds for the high school budget. Despite what we all feel about the dysfunction of the school committee, the turf or grass field or the Dover Amendment, the high school's operating budget should not be held hostage. The proposed budget is very lean and the implications of this on the education of children are dire. Staff will need to be cut and a month to month plan for spending coordinated with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). I am a high school science teacher and I can assure you this will be very bad for students going into next year. In addition, the adults in charge right now are setting a horrible tone for how we can civilly disagree and work to come to solutions despite our disagreements. There is such bad blood on many sides of this issue. I hope we can now embrace that as Richard Rohr says "the best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better." Let's do better.
Excellent point. Executive
Carol formerly ChilmarkExcellent point. Executive session is ok for personnel matters, but definitely not for this. This school committee should be 100% replaced, in my opinion. All of them need to go.
And I also hope Aquinnah zeros out the budget. It's the only effective way to put this school committee and superintendent on notice that they are straying from their obligations to the voters who put them there.
it's beyond belief that so
Rational Person Oak Bluffsit's beyond belief that so much money and attention has been directed to the High School playing fields when the facility itself is an embarrassment to all island residents. When our teams travel off island for games the competitors fields may or may not be turf but more often than not their school buildings are far superior to ours.
Lived on this island for 20
Dave OBLived on this island for 20 years. Everything, big or little, is divisive. Many think they're smarter than others and feel the need to constantly blather. I can't wait to move off and return to the sane world where kids matter.
Why, how, would a regular
Donald Herman Oak BluffsWhy, how, would a regular family with children desire to move to MV? With housing at ridiculous prices, cost of living higher than the Cape, with our school facilities, especially the high school, needing much improvement, and with many more opportunities abroad, life on MV is lagging farther and farther behind. Our officials should be doing whatever they can to make living on MV, once again, the special place to live and raise a family.
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