SOS Gears Up To Get School Supporters Out To Vote

By Tanjua Damon

In 11 days the voters of Newtown will have the opportunity to go to the polls and decide if they can accept the proposed $80.7 million town budget. One organization in town will spend the next week encouraging townspeople to support the budget and both the town and school services represented in the spending plan.

Support Our Schools (SOS) will be reaching out to townspeople through various ways. Its members have already spent time attending Board of Finance, Legislative Council, Board of Education, and PTA meetings to show support for the town budget.

“We’re reaching out to as many voters as we possibly can,” Gene Vetrano, SOS co-chairman, said. “Our fear is if deep cuts are made in both education and town services it will affect the quality of life here in town. We don’t want that to happen.”

SOS members are concerned that if the referendum fails and more has to be cut from the budget that the entire town will be affected negatively and what has been accomplished in recent years will be eroded. Mr Vetrano admits he is a firm believer in education, but he also enjoys the services offered by the town.

“The most difficult thing this year is the revaluation. But I can’t let the economy or the reassessment affect my judgment on what I know is good for the town,” Mr Vetrano said. “I understand that some people can’t afford it, but that needs to be a separate issue that the Legislative Council needs to deal with.”

Mr Vetrano hopes that the townspeople understand that more cuts will cost important programs. The Board of Education has released a list of items they will consider if the referendum fails and it has to cut more than the $400,000 reduced by the Board of Finance. Things on the list include refinishing the gym floor and bulletin boards at Middle Gate, flooring at the middle school, activities at the intermediate school, an educational assistant at Head O’ Meadow and Sandy Hook, the installation of fiber optics, changing the bus schedule to a three-tier system, two fifth grade teachers at the intermediate school, a resource teacher at Middle Gate affecting special education programs, the fourth grade orchestra, closing the pool at the high school after school, clubs, marching band, and athletics.

“We’re at a bare minimum now. These are real things,” Mr Vetrano said. “These are programs our children need. It’s more than just sitting in the classroom. If you take it away this year, it’s not going to magically come back next year.”

Mr Vetrano was sympathetic to people who are having difficulties financially or who live on fixed incomes, but he pointed out that voting the budget down does not just hurt the quality of education in town, but it also affects the quality of the town as a whole.

“Everyone that is concerned about this town has to get out to vote in support of it,” Mr Vetrano said. “It’s our obligation. If it’s our town, let’s go out and prove it’s our town.”

The referendum for the $80,741,962 proposed 2003–2004 budget will be held on Tuesday, April 22, from 6 am to 8 pm at the Newtown Middle School Gymnasium. Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-6, any person who is a registered voter in the Town of Newtown or who is a US citizen who is assessed at least $1,000 for real estate or motor vehicle on the 2002 Grand List for the Town of Newtown is qualified to vote.