The Need Is Here and Now

To the Editor:

Ten years ago, as my babies slept in their cribs, and my husband spent weeks traveling for work, I did not worry about what my taxes were funding. Newtown was a wonderful sleepy town with a beautiful library under renovation, a Fairfield Hills project with much promise, two wonderful parks, top rated schools, and low taxes. We were a young family, struggling to make ends meet, yet proud of the home we were able to purchase in this up-and-coming community.

Ten years later, we are troubled to see what has happened to the promise of our town as a result of poor planning, multiple failed referenda, and an apathetic attitude. We now are acutely aware of what our taxes fund. We have made it our business to know.

The economic climate coupled with our current debt has caused some to wonder if Newtown can afford the current budget and the high school expansion. Lack of foresight and failure to address the town’s growing needs with a long-term plan has directly impacted the need for another high school expansion, and has chipped away at our ability to preserve the quality education that should be available to all children regardless of their family’s economic status. Education under any circumstance, in any economy, and in every corner of the world, is a priority. Though children are born of their parents, they are raised by their community.

The need for this project is here and now. We must address the problem, here and now. Before you vote, if you have not had the opportunity to scrutinize the project and the budget until now, please watch this video, www.youtube.com/watch?v=amotczZCcqA called “NHS Jam Packed,” and go to the district web page at www.newtown.k12.ct.us for more information.

I encourage everyone to support the high school expansion and the budgets. We have the means to prepare these kids for this very competitive world we live in, and to move forward with the necessary town services we all need. The work of vetting the numbers is done. It’s time to accept that affordability is a question of priority. Save your property value, save your town, save your schools. Vote Yes.

Sincerely,

Desiree Galassi

PTA President

Middle Gate Elementary School

151 Huntingtown Road, Newtown                                April 16, 2008