Minutes of the Public Hearing of the Legislative Council held on Thursday, March 25, 2010 in the Lecture Hall of the Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road, Sandy Hook, CT. ~Chairman Jeffrey Capeci opened the hearing at 7 pm.
PRESENT: ~Jan Andras, George Ferguson III, John Aurelia Sr., Kevin Fitzgerald, Chris LaRocque, Richard Woycik, Benjamin Spragg, James Belden, Gary Davis, Daniel Amaral and Jeffrey Capeci.
ABSENT: ~Gary Davis
Also present: ~Over 150 members of the public and 2 members of the press
Chairman Capeci opened the public hearing at 7 pm. He welcomed everyone present and announced that the topic of the hearing was the 2010 budget to fund the town and school services for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010.
Chairman Capeci introduced the members of the Legislative Council and following the pledge of allegiance he announced the ground rules of the hearing, encouraging all voters to speak.
VOTER PARTICIATION:
Over thirty members of the public - 6 students, 5 teachers, and 2 nurses and a number of other residents - asked the legislative Council to put back all or some of the proposed $2.5 million in cuts to the Board of Education’s proposed budget.
Tina Welsh - 4 King Street, a computer technology teacher at Newtown Middle School, informed the council that the computer technology program was one of the programs to be cut. She explained 93% of teens go on line and noted that although a large number of students use digital technology, many lack the research skills and ability to apply the research in the educational setting. Mrs. Welsh added that Newtown can’t afford to regress in computer technology and she said by cutting computer technology it will add to the work load each of the current teachers.
Mrs. Welsh concluded by saying she hoped the council would reconsider the cuts.
Jason Adams, 23 Barns Bridge Road – told the council he had a vested interest in the costs as a grandfather, teacher, and parent of two with a special needs child. He said the Newtown school district has become more professional since the 1970’s and 1980’s and continually undergoes professional development. He informed hearing goers that Newtown ranks low in its ability to fund the education of its children despite its’ higher than average income.
He noted that with the proposed cuts, there will be less teachers increasing the size of the classes and taking away from the individual.
He finished by stating that the gathering of people united against the cuts puts a face to the numbers the council throws around with ease and thanked the council for their time.
Mark Mockovac, 3 Nelson Lane, expressed his desire to vote on the original budget that the Board of Education recommended and noted that the only way to determine if this is what the town wants is to let the tax payers vote on it.
Diane Dutchick, 12 White Oak Farm Road, informed the council she has been an art teacher at Newtown High School for 14 years. She said the students will feel the impact of losing one of the three art teacher. Ms. Dutchick noted that with enrollment becoming larger fewer will be able to participate and meet the requirement for art portfolio. She added that there are many special education students who have success in art because it’s sometimes the only class that helps them meet their graduation requirements.
Stephanie Dubois, 7 Marlin Road, an 8th grader at Newtown High School, told the council she was shocked and confused when she heard about the $2.5 million in cuts to the school budget and said that it worried her. She noted that when she thinks of a school system she thinks of making new friends and trying new activities – the students are very involved. Miss Dubois indicated that with the amount of lay-offs needed the class size will increase, too many students will fall behind, questions will go unanswered and teachers won’t give tests because there are too many to correct - all because the town didn’t invest in them. She asked the council to hand-down what they have learned and to give students the chance to receive the same benefits that they did. Miss Dubois finished by
urging the council to let the town vote on the budget before they vote on it.
Cheryl Mammen, 7 Old Bridge Road, told members of the council that she moved to Newtown because of the wonderful school district it has but is concerned with the number of cuts that are proposed. She noted that the children will suffer and added that the larger the classes size the less instruction the students will receive. She concluded stressing that if the council doesn’t support the schools, people will stop moving to Newtown and the housing values will go down.
Jackie Kaplan, 34 Osborne Hill Road, an English teacher, said wanted to put the tax increase in perspective, and stated that when she moved to Newtown she expected to pay a premium in taxes because of the excellent school district. She noted that, uncut, the proposed budget would be a 2% increase. She informed the public that a 6% increase would mean an increase of $34 per month to each tax payer or a 1.2% mortgage increase. Mrs. Kaplan urged everyone to get over the idea that tax increases are always bad, noting that those increases have provided for such things as an excellent police department and schools. She told the council she loves Newtown and that she is the type of person they want to attract, but added that as the budget process continues to grind down they will lose tax payers like her. Mrs. Kaplan
concluded by urging the council to take a stand and put back all or some of what was cut.
Donna Monteleone Randall, 4 Erin Lane, Sandy Hook, told the council she has lived in six states and four countries but never found a more caring dedicated group of professionals than those in the Newtown school district. She remind the board that when they grew up all that was needed was a chalk, a chalkboard, pens and paper but it’s not the same now. She said she moved to Newtown because of the good school district and caring teachers. She added that the superintendent and Board of Education worked hard to present a fiscally responsible budget. After citing examples of the ranking of students’ academic scores in the U.S. in comparison to other countries, she asked that the council reinstate the budget so residents can vote on it.
Jeremy O’Connell, 29 Housatonic Drive, Sandy Hook, a physical and health education teacher spoke on behalf of himself and fellow teacher indicating that cutting a position will be a deficit to their school and community. He told the council that physical education is known to improve academic performance and increase wellness. Finally, he asked that the council reconsider allotting money back into the education budget.
Kinga Walsh, 21 Horseshoe Ridge Road, asked the council reinstate the $2.5 million, and reconsider the Board of Education’s budget. She asked that questions be included to clarify the vote and suggested that the council find other revenue sources for the town other than the tax payers. She concluded by urging the council not to punish the children for the Town’s past shortsightedness.
Larry Hart, 10 Equestrian Ridge, told the council he is not sure the Board of Education got the budget quite right and the town can’t afford to get it wrong. He informed the council he works in a high tech company that brings in a quarter of a billion dollars a year. He said they have to go to other countries for people who have high tech jobs because we don’t have people here educated to do the jobs. Mr. Hart stressed that the town can’t get this wrong - they can’t cut any math and science teachers. He said he’s not worried about the taxes and wants to get the property values back up. He urged the council to put back the bulk of the money being cut from the education budget and figure out where the cuts can be made in a more controlled manner.
Lisa Wallace, 43 Mile Hill South, president of the PTA at Middle Gate Elementary School, said the Middle gate PTA voted unanimously to support the Board of Education budget as presented. She noted that Newtown built new neighborhoods in the 1980’s to attract younger demographic group with children, but it doesn’t have much business and industry putting the burden on the residential tax payers. Ms. Wallis urged the council to restore a portion of the cuts to the Board of Education budget to make the school district the shining star of the community and said the town needs to work together to support growth and development. She emphasized that without a revenue source the town continues to chip away the Board of Education budget.
Laurie Capozziello, 123 Toddy Hill Road, told the council that every year she and other residents have asked the town to build a skate park, and every year it is denied. Recently, she added a family offered $25,000 to build the skate park if the town would match the gift and added that over the last four years a total of over $18,000 has been donated. Mrs. Capozziello noted that the skaters need a safe place to go and need the financial support from the town government.
Erin Henriques, 56 Apple Blossom Lane, echoed what Mrs. Capozziello said indicating the kids not only need a safe place to go but that they are just as important as any other athletes in town. She concluded by stating there are over 250 skaters in town.
Bonnie Hart, 10 Equestrian Ridge, a math teacher at Newtown Middle School, told the council Newtown is the only place she wants to teach and said that the Board of Education prepared the budget proposal with due diligence. She noted that the numbers in the Newtown Middle School are not decreasing but increasing and asked if greater class sizes would decrease instructional effectiveness, Mrs. Hart concluded by stating that the voting process in town does not allow voters to be heard and asked that members of the Legislative Council reverse the cuts and let decisions be made by the people.
Paul Ludany, 40 Old Bethel Road, a medical technician with National Ski Patrol for 36-years, spoke against the nursing position being cut at the Middle School. He stressed that taking away a medical professional from the school would be a tragedy.
Sarah Hill, 10 West Street, a junior at Newtown High School, that with the budget cuts the town will lose one of its outstanding ceramics teachers. She told the council that last year she was worried about failing but that the teacher inspired her to express herself through ceramics and because of that she has now won numerous awards. She questioned how the school could have three art rooms with only two teachers.
Merritt Saunders, 2 Pumpkin Lane, told the council that the town has a commitment to education. He said he understands times are tough and revenues are thin, but if they make cuts the 4th graders will be in class sizes of 26 to 28 students. Mr. Saunders stressed that it’s an investment. He noted that Newtown is one of only four towns or districts in Connecticut with as big a difference between what they make and what they spend on education.
Alex Scarpa, 24 Gelding Hill Road, a junior at Newtown High School, said that looking at the budget issues he couldn’t imagine cutting two of the teachers. He stressed that cutting an art teacher would be cutting one third of the art teachers. Mr. Scarpa said teachers came to Newtown for the opportunities. He noted that the quality of education should be what’s voted on.
Jim Arena, 5 Pinnacle Drive, told the council he works in Norwalk as a director of engineering. He said his company hires dozens of world class engineers from all over and he loves to recommend Newtown as the place to go, but said that every year as the school budget gets squeezed it gets harder to recommend. Mr. Arena noted that he is a homeowner with the oldest of his three children in 3rd grade at Head of Meadow School. He said his son is intelligent and talented but it takes a lot of effort on the part of the teachers for him to show that; and his teacher is awesome. Mr. Arena told the council that if a 4th grade teacher is cut the class size will increase and his son won’t the attention he needs.
Page Olson, 9 River Run Road, a Newtown High School student, said she was asked by a man in a coffee shop if she was a student in Newtown. She said the man told her his child was in the third grade and asked how the high school is. Miss Olson said she raved to him for an hour about how great the schools are. However, she noted that if the budget cut goes through she wants to go back to him and say if they are cutting the stuff now she doesn’t know how it will be. Miss Olson finished by saying she’s 17 now and she doesn’t know whether she wants to raise her kids here if all the town is going to do is cut the budget down.
Gail Lynch, 72 Mile Hill South, a teacher in Newtown, said she is amazed how many of the teachers chose to live in town. She said she raised three children in Newtown. Mrs. Lynch said that her father always told her he came from Ireland with $5.00 in his pocket and that education was everything. She said he was a decorated World War II veteran and had an 8th grade education. Her father told her it was his responsibility to make sure her generation made it further, and Mrs. Lynch said it was her job to do the same. She urged the council not to stand alongside the proposed $2.5 million cut.
Robin Fitzgerald, 24 Old Farm Hill Road, told the council she was disappointed in the proposed cuts to the Board of Education budget and said that the cuts would render the schools and board impotent. Mrs. Fitzgerald urged the council to restore the $2.5 million cut stating that the cuts were based on risky estimates and that $1.2 million of the cuts have no basis what so ever. She wondered where the cuts would come from and said it was time to use long-term vision on how to move forwards. Mrs. Fitzgerald indicated that there has consistently been a no vote each year by 2,200 individuals who appear to be resistant to change. She suggested that questions be put on the ballot to gather this information. Mrs. Fitzgerald urged the council to send the original Board of education budget to vote.
Jessie Sailor, 118 Head of Meadows Road, a 7th grader at Newtown Middle School, told the council she was not happy with the budget cuts. She said the art enrichment program allows kids to expand their minds and think outside the box. Miss sailor said her teachers inspire her everyday and loves the rotational classes.
Hannah Fitzgerald, 24 Old Farm Road, a 7th grader at Newtown Middle School, informed the council that the art class allows them to explore themselves and express things through art. She indicated she was not happy with the idea of the budget cuts and said art is their lives.
Charles Heff, 4 Wicker Ridge Road, passed out a copy of Newtown rankings within their District Reference Group (DRG) in the Connecticut Master Test summary, Connecticut Academic Performance Test Summary and the Scholastic Aptitude Test Summary. He noted that there a very few single digit numbers in regards to Newtown’s rank in the DRG. Mr. Heff noted that he doesn’t see restoration of money in the proposed budget cut as a luxury but as a necessity. He urged the council to put the money back into the schools indicating the SAT scores say where the students are going to attend college. Mr. Heff stated there was a strong correlation between property values and education. In conclusion, he asked why it takes a simple majority for the Board of finance to cut the budget and the Legislative Council needs
a two-thirds vote to reinstate it.
Po Murray, 38 Charter Ridge Drive, gave a handout to the council regarding models of some ballot questions. She said she had 5 requests:
First, Ms. Murray asked that the Legislative Council to determine whether or not the town and the school side of the budget are truly sharing the sacrifices that need to be made during this economy. She asked why the school side of the budget is cut 10 times more than the town side. Ms. Murray noted that overall the Board of Education budget increase is $680,000; the Police Department budget increase is $255,000; and the Highway Department budget is $791,000. She questioned why the high department’s increase is more than the entire school budget increase. Ms. Murray indicated that there is one staff reduction on the town side where as the school may be forced to lay off as many as 20.5 teachers and she noted their salaries are already frozen.
Second, Ms. Murray suggested that the town create a contingency fund for the schools for any unanticipated costs.
Third, she recommends that the Legislative Council has full discrepancy of whom, how and why the savings account is to be used.
Fourth, Ms. Murray recommended that an advisory question be added to the budget to determine true desire of the voters.
Fifth, she suggested that the Legislative Council go through the budget and not rubberstamp it. Ms. Murray questioned why the Board of Finance honored the Board of Selectmen’s budget and not the Board of Education’s budget. She asked that the council allow the voters to decide on the budget Board of Education recommended budget.
Ms. Murray concluded by urging the council to carefully consider her 5 requests.
Chris Miller, 29 Marlin Road, a junior at Newtown High School, described his experiences with the various teachers and the positive effect they had on him. He talked about a Drafting 2 teacher who got him to problem solve and a ceramics teacher who was able to get him - an athlete – love clay. Mr. Miller told the council that these are the types that are necessary to get students through the day.
Honey Hilton, 2 Sealand Drive, told the council that the Board of education worked hard on the budget and she question how the middle school students will be prepared if there is no money for the activities. She asked the council to give people the opportunity to decide what will be cut and let the vote be on what the Board of Education says the people want.
Mark Mattioli, 67 Great Ring Road, stated that all the teachers he has met are wonderful and dedicated. He said that by the budget cuts they are taking a risk; and he added that by not enticing industry into Newtown, the town puts itself on the hook each year. Mr. Mattioli suggested that the town entice industry to Fairfield Hills to help pay the bill. He concluded by telling the council that he trusts they will do what’s right.
Michelle Hankin, 16 Greenleaf Farms Road, told the council that the schools have been slipping for years but it’s not due to the staff – it’s a funding issue. She said it’s a fact of life if you don’t spend the money you don’t get much of a result. Ms. Hankin said that over the last eight years 10 million has been cut out of Board of Education requests and noted that they lost seven and a half positions last year. She told the council that $2.5 million is the largest cut ever and asked that they reinstate the money to achieve status quo in their community. Ms. Hankin concluded by saying the town deserves the right to vote and said that for many years tax payers have been forced into voting yes.
Peter Kirlin, 18 Butternut Ridge, a father of two, said the school system is a strategic investment in Newtown’s future. He said that to transcend the economy the council needs to look at programs outside the school budget. Mr. Kirlin noted that there were $1.3 million in increases outside the school budget. He asked that the council look to other parts of the budget which are tactical to find the closure they need.
Dee Cupole, a nurse supervisor in the school district, told members of the council that cutting a nurse would not be well received and noted that there are children in St. Rose that have as many medical issues as other kids in the school district - diabetic pumps, inhalers, Epi pens and heart issues.
Bonnie Nezvesky, a registered nurse at St. Rose School, announced to the council that she was nurse whose position was to be cut. She informed the council and those at the meeting that there were a total of 67 asthmatics and 37 students with food allergies requiring Epi Pens. She added that there were some who had bee sting allergies, which could prove to be fatal if they didn’t get immediate medical attention. Ms. Nezvesky told the council it’s critical they keep this position open and said that the school is already short nurses. She concluded by urging the council to reconsider.
Having no one else who wished to speak, Chairman Capeci closed the public hearing at 9:40 pm.
Ted Swigart, Clerk
| 
