Why Is This Happening?

Just when we begin to think we have a basic understanding of local politics, something comes along that thoroughly confounds us and leaves us wondering, “Why is this happening?” This time, we are bewildered by last week’s kerfuffle over the “School Budget Update” Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff slipped into the backpacks of kids heading home from school on March 20.

The superintendent’s intent was obviously to win support for the budget proposal that was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislative Council on Wednesday this week, particularly for the educational spending in that proposal. He wanted parents to understand that his own recommended school budget had been reduced first by the Board of Education and more significantly by the Board of Finance. He was careful to point out that the accrediting agency New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) had given Newtown High School a “warning” status because of its concern “regarding the inadequate and inconsistent level of funding to provide and maintain the school’s programs and services, staffing levels, technology, facilities, space and equipment.” The obvious implication of the juxtaposition of these observations was that the inclination of the Board of Finance to pare budget requests was imperiling the accreditation of the high school.

Of course, the concerns of the NEASC, when it issued its warning last year, were not limited to community support of education budgets. It also had concerns about: the school district’s mission and expectations for student learning; the establishment of schoolwide rubrics to identify success in meeting those expectations; identifying academic, civic, and social expectations at the school; assuring that all students have the opportunity to practice and achieve those expectations; eliminating fees as a condition of enrolling in advanced placement courses; and the evaluation and revision of prerequisites for advanced placement courses.

Dr Pitkoff did not mention these other concerns in his “update,” nor did he mention that the school district reported to NEASC earlier this year that it already has addressed, or is in the process of addressing, all of its concerns — except the NEASC recommendations on advanced placement fees and prerequisites, which the district rejected outright. The NEASC now knows that the high school expansion has the support of the Board of Finance and that Newtown voters are poised to approve the project this year, that the community has financed portable classrooms to ease overcrowding, and that additional staff has been hired. This, too, was omitted from the superintendent’s publicly financed “update.” So naturally town officials, including the Board of Finance chairman, the Legislative Council chairman, the first selectman, and even the town clerk, were annoyed at the inference that somehow this year’s budget review was a primary threat to Newtown High School’s accreditation status. They complained loudly and publicly last week, and now there is a school vs town uproar over the budget.

But here is the part we do not understand. The superintendent’s “update” ends with this plea: “Please vote so that the budget will pass on the first referendum this year.” This happens to be precisely the position of the Board of Finance, the Legislative Council, the first selectman, and, for that matter, the town clerk. Now is the time when both school and town officials need all the allies they can get to win support of their proposed 2007-2008 budget. But now is the time they chose to pick a fight with each other. We just don’t get it.