Cost Increases Unavoidable

To The Editor,

As the budget season winds down and we approach the town budget referendum, which includes the Board of Education budget, I urge property owners of Newtown to support the budget.

While the town budget of $68.9 million is sizeable and does represent a 10 percent increase or a 2.9 mil increase over last year, the lion’s share of the increase is due to a number of uncontrollable factors that have impacted our town and our schools that must be funded by the town in the budget.

For example:

Twenty-three percent reduction in state aid to Newtown since 1995. This money has to be made up somewhere.

Explosive population growth – 37 percent increase since 1990 and another 6 percent plus anticipated for next year. This growth is real, the available space is gone, and our schools are seriously overcrowded and under-funded. Classroom sizes are exceeding district guidelines, kids are being taught in windowless classrooms, storage rooms, and in the fall, portable classrooms.

Although the Board of Education budget of $39.95 million represents over half of the town budget, it is a bare bones budget. There are no bells and whistles. The budget increase of 14-plus percent is necessary to fund the cost associated with the population growth as well as to fund the rising cost of healthcare claims, and cover a backlog of maintenance related expenses that have been left out from previous budgets, etc.

Take a look at the budget, speak with the Board of Education, Dr Reed, and the school principals. You will learn that the budget increase is essential to maintaining quality education for our town.

When we began this school year, Newtown’s current per-pupil expenditure ranking was 160 out of 169 towns in Connecticut – at the bottom of the list. Even with the budget increase, Newtown’s ranking will only move up on the list by a small percent. The Board of Education is not asking for too much.

Many residents ask, why are my taxes so high and Newtown’s education ranking so low? Because of Newtown’s limited commercial tax base, and the Legislative Council’s desire to limit annual property tax increases to 1 mil, the school budget is arbitrarily cut each year, along with other town budgets. No one likes to pay taxes; however, this policy has left our schools and our town under-funded.

The answer to solving the problem of rising taxes is to urge our town to seek desirable economic development, not to cut our school budget. Fairfield Hills is a great place to begin generating additional revenue for Newtown. For residents whose incomes are fixed, I urge you to lobby the town to expand the existing tax relief program to benefit elder taxpayers. These are complex issues that are important, but shouldn’t be solved at the expense of our children and our town’s prosperity. The focus in this town should be revenue generation, not just tax cuts.

This year we can no longer say no to our schools. If we do, our children’s education will suffer, and the town will begin to experience less demand for property in Newtown and in turn, a decline in our property values. No one can afford to have this happen.

Please place your vote for the budget referendum, currently scheduled for April 25. Remember if you vote no for the budget, or don’t vote, you’re saying no to quality education for Newtown.

Catherine Lombard

6 Hundred Acres Road, Newtown                   April 5, 2000