To the Editor:

I am writing this letter to urge the registered voters of our town to pass the budget as is on April 23.

When my family decided to move to Newtown 26 years ago, it was primarily because of our excellent education system. We had 2 young girls and Newtown was known for having the best education in the area. Our girls are now highly successful, independent young women. My husband and I credit the education they received in our town as being a large reason for their success. We need to preserve and protect that same reputation for educational excellence today.

Have budgets gone up? Of course they have! They go up every year. Salaries, insurance, transportation, maintenance, supplies … costs are going up everywhere in every district. But many of those other districts are still passing their budgets.

Why? Because if they don’t, they’ll have fewer programs and fewer teachers, which means more students per class, which means lower test scores, which ultimately means families will choose to move to other districts.

Just like we did 26 years ago, families still choose Newtown primarily for its reputation for excellent education. Please get out and vote yes on April 23 to maintain the continued educational excellence of Newtown. Our kids deserve it.

Lynn Hungaski

Newtown