Friends of Tolland Schools Hold Pre-Referendum Rally on Green

I'm dreaming of a school

where we all can take classes we like,

where we can learn the things we want to.

Where is Latin?

Do you see drama?

DARE, Rope, Skills for Adolescence

Spanish, French, Unified Arts.

All gone

So begins a poem by Tolland Middle School eighth grader Serena Lotreck. The poem was read in its entirety by Serena's mother, Susie, during the First Annual Pre-Referendum Rally on the green

For those unfamiliar with program cuts at Tolland Schools, Serena Lotreck's poem was meant to be an eye opener and detail what is at stake if the town’s education budget continues to get cut each year.

Sunday afternoon the Friends of Tolland Schools organization hosted the rally to ask voters what dream they have for Tolland schools over the next few years. Residents were asked to share those dreams by putting them in writing on colorful “dream flags” that were posted along the boundaries of the group’s gathering. They were also challenged to put those dreams into action by voting for the school budget at the May 3 town-wide referendum.

"To think that there are only two towns in Connecticut that pay less than we do [in per pupil spending] is appalling to me," FTS Chairperson Ken Kittredge said.

Kittredge said his dream would be to have the full educational budget put out to voters at referendum, not one that had been amended by the school board or town council. If it did not pass muster with voters, they would at least be made aware of what it costs to provide a first class education to the town's youth, he said.

Flyers distributed at the rally indicated that the zero and one percent budget increases over the past two years have resulted in larger class sizes, staff layoffs and the highest pay-to-play fees in the state.

According to the flyer, if the $35.14 million school budget were approved at Tuesday’s referendum, the annual property taxes for a homeowner with a 2009 assessment of $196,130 would increase by $222 increase, or 61 cents per day. Education budget advocates said that is less than the cost of one cup of coffee per day.

FTS volunteer Frank Pasini put the possible tax increase into a different perspective.

"If every year the voters keep saying no, no, no, sooner or later the quality of a public school education in town will erode to the point that the only way kids can get a good education is to enroll them in private school," Pasini said. "I don't want to pay more for taxes. Nobody does. But I'd rather pay a few hundred dollars extra than thousands more for a private school education," he said.

Pasini's wife Jane Pasini said that she is aware of some families who are already considering this choice. "[Going the private school route] will end up taking some of the best kids out of the mix," she said.

Resident Abigail Jefferies grew up in Tolland and said she moved her family back to town ten years ago. She said in that time she has seen considerable erosion in the school district.

"It's upsetting, and we're working hard to turn that around," Jefferies said. "This rally is a new effort, a willingness on our part to be more public. Every year the budget gets cut more and more, and parents are feeling [those cuts]. "

Tolland Intermediate School art teacher Sue Bezzina said the budget cuts last year have affected the art department. Previously there had been two teachers, but last year one art teacher position was eliminated, leaving her in charge of art instruction for the entire 700 member student body.

"Our kids are getting short-changed," Bezzina said.

Several guest speakers, including Superintendent of Schools William D. Guzman, State Rep. Bryan Hurlburt, D-Tolland, and Board of Education members Diane Clokey and Andy Powell, shared their dreams for Tolland Schools at the rally.

Powell said education is not truly valued in town, and he called upon voters to consider the cost to the future if education is not fully funded.

"One generation plants the trees, another gets the shade," Clokey said. "I ask you to leave this rally today thinking about the seeds that you are planting in our community. Will our children be benefitting from the shade? What role are you playing in shaping the Tolland of tomorrow?" she asked.

While Hurlburt noted the importance of residents participating in the voting process, he encouraged voters to go one step further and vote yes on Tuesday.

"Our dream is bigger than any one individual," he said.

Guzman said his dreams for Tolland Schools is that each will be able to provide world class opportunities with sufficient support staff and programs that go beyond the “three Rs." His dream included sufficient technology, opportunities to learn world languages and to provide the means for all children in town to reach their fullest potential.

"Voters need to reaffirm loudly and proudly their commitment to the town's children," Guzman said.