Opinion: Why Has Our Town Government Willingly Set Our School District, Our Children and Property Values on Downward Spiral?

A Letter to the Editor from Jennifer Laden in support of Steve Dunn, candidate for Brookfield First Selectman.

As a community member, parent and educator with twenty years of experience as a teacher and administrator, I am gravely concerned with the current town leadership of Brookfield’s approach to budgetary decisions for our schools. Our current town leadership and candidates for Row B have conveyed on numerous occasions that they value an “adequate” budget for our children and that they don’t want our children to overreach (but perhaps settle for mediocrity?). Is this the message we want our children to hear in this competitive 21st century global economy?

If the current administration remains in power, as each year progresses our schools and its services for our children will continue to deteriorate. The results will include the elimination of teaching positions, larger class sizes, and the cutting of programs and the situation will continue to get worse as our current First Selectman, Board of Finance and the candidates for Row B will continue to propose budgets that force the school district to cut deeper and deeper each year.

What will occur is the erosion of the strength of our school district and with that our property values. We will, over the next few years, transform from a good school district working to be great, to an adequate school district without the funding to be good, and then to a poor quality school district without the funding to be adequate.

And if you think this won’t happen just look to our neighbors in New York. As a result of Governor Cuomo’s 2 percent tax cap, school districts that were once the envy of its neighbors are massively cutting teachers and programs in order to meet the tax cap. Some actual examples of these cuts include school busing, all elementary art programs, sports, librarians, raising elementary class sizes to 30 students, and assigning middle and high school students two periods a day of study hall. These types of cuts will soon be ours, as well. At the same time, like us, all of these schools are trying to prepare students for more rigorous standards and a globally competitive marketplace.

Why has our town government willingly set our school district, our children, and our property values on a downward spiral? If Row B and their ABP Party win the seats on the Board of Education, as well, there will be no one left to challenge them. Is this what we want for our community and children?

For this reason I am supporting and urging others to vote for Steve Dunn and Sue Slater and the entire Row A in order to restore a commitment to our schools and the future of our democracy. Without this our children will have no voice.

In the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”

Brookfield, please choose wisely.

Jennifer Laden, Brookfield