For Joe Ardovitch, the idea of merging two Darien school districts seemed an improbable magic trick.

“What are they going to do, pull a rabbit out of a hat?” asked Ardovitch, a parent who led the drive for a tax hike in Cass School District 63 last year that failed. “You’ve got two school districts that are hurting financially.”

Ardovitch and other tax-hike supporters thought the idea of merging District 63 and Darien District 61 was a loser, but some supported studying it if for no other reason than to let the facts — or what they thought were the facts — kill the notion.

A few weeks ago District 61 approved ordering a $19,250 study, but the District 63 rejected paying for it last week, putting an end to the consolidation issue.
Ardovitch, once a supporter of the study, said he agreed with the board’s latest decision.

“Maybe it would have been proof for some people sitting on the fence,” Ardovitch said, “But we don’t have the time, and we don’t have the money for that.”

Money has become a big issue for District 63, which now has to get a loan to pay off annual operating expenses through the school year. District 61 has healthy cash reserves, though it recently posted its sixth straight budget deficit.

District 63 Superintendent Kerry Foderaro recommended not doing the study, saying it was “not fiscally responsible” considering the likelihood that an independent study would find no “significant new information.”

Foderaro and others also took potshots at former Darien mayor Carmen Soldato, with board member Jackie Hynek noting the former mayor had got the town “all riled up” with his comments on consolidation. Foderaro added Soldato never came to any meetings at the School District to share his ideas.

Soldato said this week the two school boards never considered his idea of cutting intergovernmental agreements with each other to eliminate administrative jobs, such as a superintendent’s position, to save money.

“They dismissed it, but did they ever sit down as two full boards to talk about it? The answer is no,” Soldato said Monday. “That doesn’t affect class size. That doesn’t affect the size of classrooms or the educational provision to our kids.”

Soldato, who lives in District 61’s boundaries, also said he did not attend any meetings because he is now only a “concerned resident.”

“The point is, I’m not an elected official,” Soldato said. “Their job, they are the elected officials, they are the board members who are required to fulfill their obligations, which means look at the ways we can provide this product most efficiently.”