Support The Budget

To the Editor:

As citizens and taxpayers we must once again decide the fate of the budget put before us by our Legislative Council. I believe we should support and pass this budget. This is by no means an extravagant budget. We are asked to pay a total of 4.8 percent more than last year, and this already reflects a cut of $400,000 from the original request.

I, like most citizens, do not relish paying higher taxes, but the reality is that local municipalities are increasingly left with an ever-escalating tax burden as federal and state funding continues to decline due to budget cuts and tax cuts.

My greatest concern here is funding for education. While the overall expenditure is up 7.19 percent, this budget barely addresses the glaring needs of our schools and doesn’t even keep the status quo, as most of the cost increases are due to rising health care costs.

I speak mainly on behalf of the Reed Intermediate School, which is in great need of support staff for music, phys ed, reading, and guidance. These last two, each have only one staff member to address the needs of 912 students. We are asking for an additional teacher for both areas, which would bring the ratio to 1:456. This is not a trivial request. There are numerous students at the school who need extra assistance and guidance both scholastic and emotional, the kind of help that they cannot get from home.

We need to address these areas of need and provide our struggling students the help they need to succeed. Early intervention can stop negative patterns of behavior and positively shape the outcome of these students. By not doing so, we will inherit greater problems down the road and will not have fulfilled our duty as educators of our children.

In closing, I urge all our citizens to vote in support of this budget. We cannot expect to maintain the high quality of life and great reputation of our education system if we do not fund the services, which we cherish and which make our town an attractive place to live. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said: “Taxes are the dues we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society.”

Marina Moscovici

President of Reed PTA

41 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook                                                                                                 April 5, 2005