Taxpayer Supported

Proselytizing

To the Editor:

There is a controversial issue facing the Board of Education centering around notices that are sent home in student’s backpacks which urge parents to vote in the affirmative at budget referendums.

Several weeks ago this issue was addressed by the Board of Education and their opinion was that these fliers from the superintendent’s office are “legal.” Apparently the law permits such notices to be distributed until an official budget has been submitted and published. The Board of Education seems to approve of using taxpayer dollars to proselytize for Yes votes on the budget and they continue to defend this action because it is legal. There are many taxpayers in Newtown who may not support a particular budget and the Board of Education is using their money to politicize an opposing view. Would the school district accommodate a person who opposes the budget to use school paper and copy machines to distribute their fliers in students’ backpacks? I think not.

The school board should stop hiding behind what is legal and do what is right. The last time this issue surfaced there was a fairly large outcry from the public and yet the superintendent did it again. This surprised me because I believe he is too smart to have stepped into this quagmire a second time. There must have been a lot of pressure brought to bear. You figure it out.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the superintendent sending home reminders about a budget vote as long as they are purely informational and neutral. When these notices take a position that is biased on one side or the other, then they have stepped over the line. I don’t think the public would take too kindly to the selectmen’s office expending taxpayer money to print and distribute similar fliers in support of the budget. The same standard should apply to the Board of Education.

George Caracciolo

Schoolhouse Hill Road, Newtown                                   May 22, 2007