To the editor:

My wife and I wanted to take a minute to thank the Bristol Warren School Building Committee for their tireless efforts throughout the last months to develop the repair and modernization plans for our schools. This group, comprised mostly of volunteers, has been hard at work over the last months to secure an enhanced funding level, totaling up to a 83% reimbursement from the state for our education related capital expenditures. The process required an aggressive timeline, with proposals due last week.

While the replacement of our aging and problematic high school stands out, the project also includes overdue maintenance and improvements at our other school buildings. A project of this scope is complex and challenging and would be a significant effort for any organization. A group of civically minded community volunteer members and dedicated school staff likely sacrificed many evenings and weekends to move the project to this point.

What really stands out for us has been transparent communications, availability of information and engagement with the community. Of course, the school committee meetings and building committee meetings are an open forum. This group has also set up information booths at town events, such as the summer concerts, community days and attending various community organization meetings. This past weekend, committee members spent their Sunday afternoon, at the Bristol Porch Fest, tabling, with placards displaying the plans and answering questions for the hundreds of citizens who came by.

Like many of you, we have been able to have our questions answered quickly, clearly and with a pleasant ‘Let me know if I can help with anything else?’ By visiting the high school, we were able to see the obvious need, by attending meetings and reading the available information we were able to form confidence that the team, aided by their experts, were able to develop the best solution.

For instance, a few weeks ago, it occurred to me that I would like to know if the heating/cooling and energy systems would be based on renewable, climate friendly sources. I sent an email to the recommended contact (bristolwarren@pmaconsultants.com).

It was Saturday of Labor Day weekend, by Tuesday afternoon, I had a clear response. It was reassuring to hear that highly efficient geo-thermal heat pumps coupled with solar powered electricity were the cheapest and greenest solution and are the recommended approach.

We no longer have school age children, but we recognize the intrinsic value of investing in education for our community’s common good. This is an important decision for our community, and spending a little time learning about the proposals is part of our shared responsibility. The school committee has done an admirable job and has gone out of their way to make it easy for us to learn more.

We would like to thank the members of The Bristol Warren School Building Committee for your tireless efforts and the personal sacrifices you have been making to help our students and community.

Steve and Kathy Kloeblen
693 Hope St.