"The relationship is unprecedented. Our children would be a test case."
Chris Williams
West Hartford officials are planning to buy a University of Connecticut property instead of allowing a for-profit international school to come to town.
The China-based Weiming Education Group wanted to set up an international school in West Hartford, and it was prepared to pay UConn over $12 million for the 58-acre property. But the town -- which has first-purchasing rights -- stepped in, and is buying it for about $5 million.
Speaking on WNPR's Where We Live, West Hartford town councilman Beth Kerrigan said the town should discuss all its options.
"Someone wants to do a band show, a dog park, a children's museum, art gallery, public space," Kerrigan said. "There's a coalition in town called the War Chiefs Sports Council who'd like to see it into a sports arena. So I think going forward you're going to see a lot of conversation with the town and the residents about the future."
Kerrigan didn't say whether Weiming would still have a seat at the table. The company is currently under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security for how it manages its students' visas.
West Hartford Councilman Chris Williams said there were too many unanswered questions about what Weiming could bring to the town.
"The relationship is unprecedented," Williams said. "Our children would be a test case. I saw no objective evidence whatsoever that it would be a material benefit to our students and to their education. To me that's too great a risk to have to move forward."
Weiming would pay the town $13,000 per student enrolled, and it would recruit students from all over the world. School officials had supported the plan, saying it would diversify the student body and help bring in added revenue as enrollment has been declining in recent years.
