To the Editor:

This letter is an entreaty to the voters of Newtown to support the education budget at this third referendum scheduled for Tuesday, June 4.  The budget request as it stands now calls for a year over year increase of 3.93 percent, having been further reduced by the Legislative Council in response to the failed second referendum.

The needs of our school system are significant. Those needs have multiplied considerably over the past few years of very modest growth in funding, less than one percent annual average. We believe that educational excellence is a prerequisite to the continued growth and viability of our community.

If we are to grow our economic base and define ourselves as a vibrant community, attractive to investment and competitive in the marketplace, then we must demonstrate a belief in our future and a willingness to invest in this core value of educational excellence.  Our commitment to you is to manage resources with the greatest consideration for the impact on taxpayers; to seek efficiencies and cost-savings while also providing programs and services of high quality; to aggressively investigate longer-term opportunities for savings; and, finally, to serve you with the greatest of integrity and transparency.

We humbly ask for your support on this budget vote.     

E. Patricia Llodra

First Selectman

John S. Reed

Interim Superintendent of Schools

3 Primrose Street, Newtown                        May 28, 2013