Enfield's School Audit: A Breakdown in Communication and Oversight

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The newly released audit of the Board of Education's $5.6 million cost overrun makes one thing clear: this wasn't a simple mistake. It was a systemic failure — the result of siloed operations, weak internal rigor, and missteps by both the school district and the town. And here's the hard truth: Enfield still hasn't actually paid for this failure. Town reserves covered the gap, shrinking our financial cushion and limiting our ability to soften future tax hikes. Next year's budget will reveal just how vulnerable we are. What this incident tells us is that Enfield isn't managing its risk very well — and that should worry everyone. Fundamentally, this was a costly risk-management failure, and nothing in the audit suggests it can't happen again.  [ Audit link , and Council  slide deck ] CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), the audit firm, outlines eight major problems, many of them rooted in communication breakdowns between the town, the school district, and the state. The ...
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Enfield's charter revision: What will they do?



Enfield Conn., Middle Road

On Monday, the Town Council is expected to form a Charter Revision Commission. What little screaming nightmares will this group deliver?

A direct election of mayor

There are arguments for this. It might improve elections. We could see mayoral candidate debates, each sharing a vision for Enfield. Someone would now be responsible. Manchester made that change but limited the mayor's executive authority, retaining its town manager, which is probably best.

Budget referendums 

There's a little support on the council for this, but it would be a disaster for Enfield. Our community is too big and too complex to adopt a system that could lead to dramatic increases and decreases in spending, as polarized special interest groups battle it out. Referendums of this type usually get small turnouts. They also undermine the accountability of elected officials. Hopefully, the charter commission won't push this self-destruct button.

Charter in balance

The new Charter Revision Commission has the potential to reshape the structure of Enfield’s government. There may be a temptation for radical reform, or the Commission might opt to limit changes to administrative updates to the town’s charter. However, this could become politically dangerous if partisan interests begin to influence the revision process. Some of the appointed members are frequent speakers at Town Council meetings and have strong views on a range of issues. So, it's likely that the Commission will propose some major reforms, if a consensus emerges. Whatever this Commission proposes has to get Town Council and voter approval, likely during the November 2025 town election.
Location: Enfield, CT 06082, USA

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