A Modest Proposal

To the Editor:

It has almost become a rite of spring, this annual battle between Newtown’s two largest interest groups: households with school-age children versus households without school-age children. The casualties include not only the schools, but also the library, the police department, Parks and Rec, and dozens of other deserving departments whose budget requests cannot be fully met.

The problem is not that our taxes are too low. Per capita property taxes in Connecticut are the third highest in the nation. And Newtown ranks 28th out of 169 Connecticut municipalities in the amount of tax extracted from each resident.

The problem is not that we don’t allocate a large enough portion of the town’s revenue to education. With 66.6 percent of the budget devoted to schools, Newtown is well ahead of the 58.5 percent statewide average.

The problem is not that Newtown ranks 139th out of 169 towns in per pupil spending. In fact, this is the highest we’ve ever ranked! Newtown has climbed steadily since 1999 (when we ranked 161st), and even with last year’s budget cuts, we jumped from 143rd place. Of course, this ranking is almost meaningless anyway: per pupil expenditures do not correlate with educational quality, teacher excellence, or academic performance. Plenty of towns pay more and get far less for their money. Perhaps we should be proud that only 30 towns in Connecticut have more efficient school spending than we do.

But there is a problem and everyone knows what it is. We have been ridiculously negligent in developing a commercial tax base to help support the kinds of programs so many of us want. Unfortunately, it will take years to fix this. Right now, we simply don’t have the resources to spend more on education.

Or maybe we do.

In the first 2003 budget referendum, 2,433 individuals demonstrated their willingness to pay more to support the schools. I believe they should have the opportunity to do so. Last year, I privately proposed to the superintendent that we establish an “Emergency Education Fund” so that parents and other concerned citizens could voluntarily make up the budget shortfall. I pledged $400 to get the ball rolling.

If we had done this — and 2,433 more parents kicked in their $400 — we could have raised almost a million dollars. That would have been enough to preserve a four-tier bus system; we could have dodged the “pay for play” bullet; we could have hired additional teachers; we could have kept fourth grade orchestra.

But it didn’t happen. Apparently there is a fear in the education establishment that financial volunteerism could set a “dangerous precedent.” Maybe so; but I still think we should put our kids needs ahead of ideology.

So I propose it again, publicly this time. If we can prevail upon the Board of Education to solicit and accept voluntary contributions to supplement the budget until we get the tax base fixed, I will contribute $500, over and above my taxes, and I’ll do it again every year through the end of the decade if need be.

Who’s with me? If you think we should be spending more on our schools, get out your checkbook.

David Klang

5 Blanches Walk, Newtown                                        March 23, 2004