LETTER: 'Vote Yes For Sudbury'

SUDBURY, MA—The following was submitted:

At Town Meeting on May 1, we will vote on whether or not to pass an override of $1.1M for the FY18 operating budget. If the override passes at Town Meeting, we will also vote at the Special Town Election on May 9. At times, without an operating budget override, it becomes impossible to maintain the level of services we expect as a community. While the total override will address both Public Safety and school needs, this letter will focus primarily on the override request of Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) for $675K. The Public Safety portion of the $1.1M override will fund four additional firefighters and one police officer to cover existing needs. For more detail about this, see “FAQ About the Town FY2018 Override Budget” on the Budget page of the Town’s website.

Despite much discussion about the enrollment decline in SPS, in actuality, enrollment has decreased by only .4 percent in the last year and 2.2 percent over the last two years. We’ve seen this trend of declining enrollment over the past decade and enrollment is projected to decrease by an additional 2 percent over the next four years before it begins to climb. Every year, SPS adjusts the budget and cuts positions when possible due to decreased enrollment.

The most important consideration about an override is the impact on children. Whether or not the override passes, administrative positions will be eliminated, including central office staff, two elementary assistant principals, and a middle school house administrator. Without the override, some of the additional cuts will include one Curtis teacher, two elementary math coaches, a planned science coach, two literacy tutor/coach positions, and two Special Education/Student Services positions. Eliminating Math and Science coaches reduces the district’s ability to provide research-based resources for differentiated instruction; decreases resources available to families and teachers to meet student needs; and impacts the adoption of new standards. Eliminating literacy positions results in larger case loads for existing staff and diminished services for both general education and students requiring literacy support. Reduction of Special Education/Student Services staff results in larger case loads for existing staff and a reduction in counseling or other social-emotional supports.

Consider the services provided by this override (a cost of $184 for the average household). Join us in voting “Yes” for SPS and Public Safety. Learn more at www.yesforsudbury.org.

Warm regards,

Lisa Gutch

Silver Hill Road

Mandy Sim

Mossman Road

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