To the Editor:
Wilton’s schools are a top-three reason we moved to Wilton to start a family. It’s a luxury, which we don’t take for granted, to have the security knowing that our tax dollars are funding a top-notch education.
It’s an important note which goes to highlight that I’m not opposed to funding our schools; and it’s not the $82.3MM bill for the taxpayers that’s worrisome. What should concern the community is Board of Education chair Deborah Low‘s foundational premise for the budget recommendation, in her Op-Ed in these pages, which states, “Reducing beyond MBR turns our system into something not recognizable” because we need to account for “the unknowns.”
The elephant in the room is that, with so many unknowns, the next school year will be unrecognizable if the budget is flat, -10%, or +10%. So, with that obvious note in mind, why are we keeping the budget flat year-over-year and not starting with a reduced budget at the daily average surplus for the entire school year of the $2.95MM gained as a result of the pandemic?
Really, we should be starting with answering the question, “Are we even starting school in September?” We could even settle for starting to map out “How will we balance class hours for onsite vs online learning?” There seem to be a lot of unknowns that we’re not even trying to investigate. That’s irresponsible.
Instead, we’re paying for additional textbooks as part of a $377K charge when we know that more learning will occur digitally. On top of that, add Chromebooks and teacher laptops to the tune of $800K *upfront* to save now on the accrued costs of a leasing plan. Fast forward three years on the Chromebooks: we’re having the exact same conversation about how the students are at a disadvantage because the tech is outdated, obsolete, and needs maintenance.
And, lastly (for now), spare us the “funds in reserve that go unused will be returned to The Town.” It’s tiresome and it’s hollow. In what scenario can any reasonable person imagine tax dollars in a use-it-or-lose-it scenario going unused? And suppose the reserve funds are returned to The Town, we’re supposed to see this as some sort of gratuity? A gift?
There are a good number of our neighbors whose entire livelihoods are canceled until further notice. There are a good number more to come. You want to talk about unrecognizable? Let’s talk about a town that loses good citizens because the tax burden is simply too much because our BOE doesn’t have the foresight or the fortitude to see the “unrecognizable” and recognize it as an “opportunity” to be better, more efficient, and more effective for the students and their parents.
The BOE and the BOF owes it to the people of this town to solve for some of the unknowns knowing that there’s no cure-all and no perfect answer. As it stands, we have a plan of action that gives our BOE a very comfortable cushion while the people they’re asking to provide it very possibly have no cushion of their own.
All the Op-Eds and budget sheets and scenarios the BOE and Board of Finance present sure do a lot of talking without actually saying much of anything at all. Be better. We certainly pay enough for it.
William Blake
Well said Mr Blake