To the editor:

I have felt like Chicken Little running around town saying that the sky is falling. I keep repeating that Warren cannot afford to build a new high school at this time. Sitting in Town Council meetings over the last few weeks has strengthened my conviction that unfortunately this is very true.

COVID inflated our budget and gave us a false sense that money grew on trees. Add a $13 million lawsuit to that scenario and Warren now finds itself looking toward the FY25 budget paying higher taxes and losing municipal services.

Warren’s financial future will be negatively impacted by the $200 million referendum. Building a new high school is irresponsible! Nowhere does it make sense to raise taxes and reduce the services you receive. What you were told was misleading.

Say goodbye to the Parks & Recreation Program. Say goodbye to trash pickup. Say goodbye to what you love about Warren. Everyone needs to get angry and stop this project.

Circumstances have significantly changed. Our financial future is uncertain. Is this the best time to commit millions of dollars we do not have for a new school building?

A new school building is not going to guarantee the towns of Bristol and Warren a better education, but it will guarantee that Warren’s demographics are going to change, it does guarantee that our children and our parents are not going to be able to afford to buy homes or stay in their existing homes.

Education is very important, but it is only a piece of the puzzle for a successful life. Family and community are the other components, and if we lose those assets, our future generation is at risk of losing more than they have to gain.

Tara Thibaudeau
Main Street

Tara Thibaudeau is the Director of Parks and Recreation in Warren and is the Secretary of the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee