Today’s advocate promotes the Norwalk Board of Ed’s blog. Which has few posts that of course lack any details. They should be applauded for embracing the blog medium, but in doing so they should be posting the budget and examining that, rather than relying on the platitudes of Dr. Corda. Remember, we identified plenty of lines items to cut that are not student programs. They keep circling back to the scare tactics. Why is that? Is it really so hard to agree to cut postage usage? Or have the admin staff pay for their own memberships? Is it really so difficult?

Here’s their latest round:

Saturday APril 7, 2007

Mis Information
As another city budget year winds down, it seems there is much
mis-information circulating here in Norwalk. I write this letter to
clarify facts as they pertain to the Board of Education budget request.

Last year, the Board of Education budget was approved with an increase
of just over 2%, the lowest increase in the state. Everyone was
thrilled. But, this carried with it a problem for this year, one that
was made clear by the Superintendent to the Board of Education, Board
of Estimate and Taxation and the Common Council. The warning: next
year’s budget would be artificially high due to the use of one-time
funds to keep last year’s budget artificially low. Now it’s next
year.

Fact 1. It will cost over 5.5% to maintain programs that currently
exist. That is the same budget, the same programs that were approved by all City boards last year.

Fact 2. The Board of Education budget, as it now stands, is a 6.2%
increase. This includes some modest improvements, mainly designed to
keep students out of study halls and put them into classes in Brien
McMahon and Norwalk High Schools. Interested students have already
signed up, literally hundreds of them, for the added classes. The
classes may have to be cancelled.

Fact 3. The budget as it now stands, with a smaller increase, will
mean over 3 million dollars of reductions. Reductions suggested by the
Superintendent the include requested improvements, athletics,
academically talented positions, literacy specialist positions, and
many, many more.

Fact 4. The initial budget request for the Board of Education was a
7.7% increase. This was based on information available in the fall.
Current updated information and refined estimates have reduced the
increase to 6.2%. The City has been kept informed of this information
as it became available.

This is my 16th year on the Board of Education. Each budget year
presents challenges, but this year is different. The increase seems
high, but keep in mind last year’s was artificially low. What is
important is the product we provide for our students, and how we choose to invest in them.

Over the last 6 years our school system has made great progress.
Curriculum has been rewritten for every subject area. Millions of
dollars has been invested in new and renovated facilities and
textbooks. New teacher and administrator evaluation plans now hold
people accountable. And a district improvement plan that is being used
as a model for the state has been approved.

But the approved budget, as it stands, can’t even support what we
now have in place and results in a step backward. It just doesn’t make
sense. Especially in light of the cost, an added $2 a week, maybe even
less.

The Common Council can allow more funding to the Board of Education at their April 10 meeting. Let your Council representative know your
thoughts, at the meeting, or before. Do it for our students, all 11,000
of them.

Thomas J. Vetter

Posted by Norwalk Board of Education at 10:25 AM

Please Become Involved
It’s fair to say that the Board of Education’s budget process has been more difficult this year than in recent memory, and that the stakes are high, as they always are. Those involved on both sides of the debate cite statistics to justify their positions and the financial techniques available to provide remedy. This discussion is necessary and expected. It’s much more difficult to quantify the effect of the debate on those directly impacted by it, no matter what the eventual outcome. Students are aware that the adults wield the financial power. They are aware that the results of the debate will indicate what priority their education has in the minds of these adults, as are others who are less directly, but no less significantly affected by the results - homeowners, business owners, realtors, and politicians, to name a few.

There can be no reasonable debate regarding the magnitude of the cuts that will be necessitated by the budget that seems likely to be approved. There can be and is plenty of debate regarding where these cuts should be made. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I won’t use this forum to try to influence that debate. But I will cite one statistic. The budget Dr. Corda requested will cost the average Norwalk homeowner approximately $100 more per year than the one that the Common Council and Board of Estimate seem likely to approve.

The email address and telephone number for every Common Council member can be found at the following link: http://norwalkct.org/comcouncil.htm. If you think it’s worth an additional $100 to support the budget Dr. Corda has requested, please contact your Common Council representative and ask him or her to raise the cap that has been set on next year’s spending. If you think that an additional $100 is too much, I encourage you to contact your representative to let your feelings be known. Either way, I encourage you to participate. The message we are about to send regarding how Norwalk’s residents feel about education will be loud, and it will be clear. Let’s make sure it truly represents our values.

Rob Polley

Posted by Norwalk Board of Education at 8:53 AM