School Problems

Are Not About Resources

To the Editor:

Spend smart. That hopefully is the message that those charged with overseeing the use of taxpayers’ money received from the recent budget rejection.

Long-term fiscal health for both our educational system and our town, and an affordable and diverse community, require responsible spending. A vote against the budget was not a vote against education. Consider some of the other schools in our District Reference Group. The most recent available Strategic School Profiles place Newtown’s annual per pupil spending at $9,889. This is noticeably above the highly regarded Madison schools, $9,548, a system that is conscious of its effective use of taxpayers’ money. Newtown overtook Cheshire, $9,819, since the previous year. And its been closing the gap on the highly rated Farmington schools, $9,919, in recent years. There may be problems in the schools, but they are not due to lack of resources, and the solution is not to increase spending beyond that imposed by inflation and student population growth.

Jim Greenwood

10 Elm Drive, Newtown                                                   April 29, 2007