Newtown Has The Money

To the Editor:

Cutting the education budget is a direct reflection upon what we value as a community. It has a direct bearing on our children’s future and how we are perceived as a community in which to live. Newtown has the money, it lacks the shared vision. This is evident by the fiscal decisions made by our governing representatives. The lack of transparency in the decisionmaking process and ad hoc decisions made on our behalf have pitted one citizen against another because of what we don’t know and what we are led to believe. We must demand the ability to examine closely all the avenues that our leaders have explored and we must challenge the decisions that are being made on our behalf.

Let’s begin with a shared vision for Newtown as a “thriving” community…something simple like “A better education for a better tomorrow.” Something that we all can agree on and we go from there. Now, we would have a platform that bring us together to challenge decisions that might sacrifice our vision, i.e., “Why are we continuing to allocate money to the Fairfield Hills ‘money pit’ while our schools are overcrowded and have leaky roofs?” Remember what I said — Newtown has the money! Within Connecticut towns of similar demographics, Newtown is in the top 20 percent in ability to pay for public services, yet it is in the bottom 20 percent spending per student. Did you know that Newtown has $12.78 million in a “rainy day” fund? It was $8.1 million last year. Where did that come from? Did you know that this fund has been used in the past to offset the tax increases for the following year?

The Legislative Council has the authority to apply any amount that they feel is “fiscally” appropriate. Over the past ten years an average of $2.68 million per year has been used to offset tax increases. This year we are facing $1.9 million tax revenue shortfall — and they want to cut the education budget? Well, action speaks volumes. Maybe we did not make ourselves clear: We want a better education for our children. Newtown has the money!

So, let’s be transparent: I vote No…because our school budget is too low, our taxes are too high and I feel that the Legislative Council has not provided us the appropriate budget cut and revenue generating solution to satisfy our community’s vision.

Anthony DiVanno

43 Jo Mar Drive, Sandy Hook                                       March 24, 2009