Comprehensive FHS
Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Voting Information
    • Can I Vote?
    • How Do I Vote?
    • How Do I Register to Vote?
    • How Can I Vote Absentee?
    • Where Do I Vote?
    • When Do We Vote?
  • Results
    • Hartford Courant Article
  • Project Information
    • Comprehensive FHS Videos
    • Project Overview Video
    • The Current Facility is Failing
    • Why We Must Act
    • Proposed New FHS facility
    • Project Site Mirror [November 2022]
    • Official Project Site [current, with information redacted]
  • FAQs
  • Letters
Menu

Farmington Patch Letter: FHS Building Committee Did Its Homework

From:
James Rackliffe
Farmington
Original: Patch.com

FARMINGTON, CT — To The Editor: 

I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for the FHS building referendum coming up on June 3. 

I have seen with my own eyes and have spoken to both current and former students and faculty of FHS that confirm the overwhelmingly deficient state of the current FHS facility and the dire need for our community to do something about it. It is, and has been, an embarrassment that the children of our community have had to attend school in such poor conditions. 

It is also a testament to the FHS staff that the level of education has not suffered despite a crumbling, inadequate facility. 

However, we have an incredible solution that has been presented to us. The FHS Building Committee, Farmington Board of Education and Town Council have operated in lockstep throughout the process that has led us to this moment of action. They have been thoughtful, transparent, honest and thorough, all while spending literally thousands of hours working on a comprehensive solution for FHS on behalf of our community. 

I am grateful for their incredible efforts, not only as a parent, but as a taxpayer and member of this community. 

With all of that said, there has been some very late arriving opposition to this project popping up in publications and signage around town. The opposition group thinks they are smart by using strong adjectives such as “deceptive” and “misleading” and other scare tactics in all of the materials they have released. They are preying on our societal vulnerabilities by showing up at the 11th hour to create chaos, raise doubts and sow distrust in our town government. 

They have done this anonymously, coming up with bloated numbers seemingly written on a cocktail napkin, without sourcing and without mentioning their qualifications that would lead any of us to believe they are a credible source for information regarding this project. It is an insult to our collective intelligence, our community, our elected representatives and the volunteers who have done everything they could to be transparent, all while navigating through a global pandemic. 

I would hate to see their tireless and honorable work unraveled by a group that doesn’t even have the courage to attach names and faces to their publications. It is a shame, a black eye for our town, and is nothing short of cowardly and deceitful. I hesitate to even give their claims oxygen, but think the cause is so important to defend. 

This isn’t national politics. This was not a one-sided, partisan solution created in a vacuum. We have a bipartisan group of dedicated public servants and a groundswell of people in our community in unanimous support. This building will have such a dramatic effect on so many children and will provide the absolute best value for our taxpayer money. 

There is no better investment that we can make in our town than one that invests in our children and the education they receive. Join me in voting YES for FHS on June 3. 

James Rackliffe
Farmington


Community support for the project is strong - Read more letters!

Take Action:

  • Find out how and where to vote
  • Inform yourself with our Quick Reference Guide
  • Encourage your friends and neighbors to vote YES
  • Visit our mirrored information from the FHS Building Project Website (from before the quiet period) and review the official information about the project and this referendum.
  • VOTE YES
Vote on December 8, 2022

Learn More:

  • Comprehensive FHS Quick Reference Guide
  • Comprehensive FHS Video Series
  • Additional Videos Archive
  • Referendum Voting Information
  • Current FHS Challenges
  • Why We Must Act
  • Proposed New FHS Facility
  • Frequently Asked Questions
Stay Connected
Subscribe To Newsletter
Get occasional important updates from Comprehensive FHS
Unsubscribe any time
Invalid email address
Thank you for signing up for our updates!

Please note - for security, you will now receive a confirmation email. You must click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our updates.
Comprehensive FHS Video Series

Comprehensive FHS is an independent, non-partisan organization and is not affiliated with any other organization.

Document/Content Mirroring Policy

Referendum is scheduled for:
Thursday December 8, 2022
6AM-8PM
Please Vote Yes – Your Vote Matters

The FHS Building Project Referendum was held
Thursday June 3, 2021 6AM-8PM
Thank you for your YES votes –
your votes mattered
your support mattered
Stay Engaged.

Paid for by Comprehensive FHS, Kavita Umarani, Treasurer
This message was made independent of any candidate or political party.

 

Comprehensive FHS
PO Box 161
Farmington, CT 06034

©2023 Comprehensive FHS