Region 18 Budget Referendum May 7th for Lyme and Old Lyme
Our towns are willing to invest in education because we know that our outstanding schools attract families to our towns. The Region 18 2019/2020 Budget, as it stands, is not a budget that our taxpayers, knowing what is in the 2.29% increase, should ever be expected to accept.
WHAT IS IN THE BUDGET:
- A new, unfunded pre-k expansion program to reach a potential 17 four year old children
- Unnecessary renovations to Center School
- $350,000 to fund a $2- million artificial turf field
WHAT IS NOT IN THE BUDGET:
- Fully staffing our current k-12 programs
- Repairs to our existing k-12 buildings and grounds
WHAT WILL BE EXPECTED IN THE UPCOMING YEARS:
- Yearly taxpayer funding of the pre-k expansion and artificial turf field
- Region 18 pension costs being pushed down from Hartford to local towns
- Region 18 securing new bonds to pay for $11- million in deferred facility repair expenses
ARE YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT THIS BUDGET? HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD - ALL LYME AND OLD LYME TAXPAYERS PLEASE VOTE!
MAY 7th - REFERENDUM VOTE FOR LYME AND OLD LYME
The 2019/2020 Region 18 Budget falls short in three of the goals set for our School Board:
This budget does not preserve or build upon the high standards of education in LOL while remaining fiscally responsible to our communities.
This budget does not maintain high facility standards for all district buildings and grounds.
This budget does not maintain both compliance and reasonability in response to state and federal mandates.
The current budget includes adding a new, unfunded program to the taxpayers of Lyme and Old Lyme. Universal pre-k is not just an expansion of our existing program. This is a new program and the goals of the program and the means to get there are far from completion. To allocate $400,000 in taxpayer money to expand the current peer-to-peer program with everyone being able to get in for free, paid for entirely by taxpayers and eliminating the opportunity for businesses in the community to survive is not a program that was asked for by the community.
This proposal may be a small percentage compared to the total budget, however it is a large amount of taxpayer money to reach a very small population of children who may be at risk for not receiving any preschool in our towns, a number that is not even known for certain. Asking the towns to go along with decisions like an expensive renovation at Center School and a new program that does not have fully developed or sensible logistics, that will negatively impact local businesses and is missing vital expenses in the budget like administration costs, furniture, supplies, specials teachers, their salaries and pensions, heating costs, building maintenance and other yet unidentified costs is not in the best interest of Lyme and Old Lyme taxpayers.
Universal pre-k is not mandated by the state. To make this decision, one that will forever challenge our taxes, should not be taken lightly and pushed into a budget without being fully explored in the best interest of our community to meet the goals of the program. The proposed program, five free full days for all four year olds, encompasses social, emotional and financial choices, ones that should be either accepted or rejected by the entire community and taxpayer base. Not all families want a five day, all day, free pre-k in our towns. The proposed program should explore half day options, classrooms at Mile Creek and Lyme Consolidated and be provided at a fee to all with a sliding scale based on income so it can be implemented with a minimal financial impact on the taxpayers in Lyme and Old Lyme. This program shouldn’t be rushed to be the first in our area and instead should be prepared as the best in the area.
The proposed new program does not service more children than our current programs and facilities. Class sizes are beyond the recommended guidelines. Special education needs are rising. We are falsely advertising "a private school in a public setting." This budget is cutting funding to PE, Art and Music - costs that could be easily covered and are important for our towns. There is no need to reduce our current teaching staff right now to our k-12 students when our student population is not decreasing and we may be seeing an increase in the 2019/2020 school year. Using taxpayer funds to create universal pre-k, a NEW program to Region 18, should not be considered in this budget at all when it comes at the price of our existing programs. Asking the towns to invest over $400,000 while our k-12 teachers are being cut and resources are being shifted away from our current facilities is not a proposal that we can afford.
From the community standpoint, adding a new program and pushing off large, necessary facility costs is extremely irresponsible. The Region 18 future facility costs have exploded and the town will be asked to cover major facility repairs in our Elementary and Middle Schools in the next few years. According to the National Center of Education Statistics, the student population is expected to increase by only 2% from 2016-2026. We are very far from needing an “early childhood learning center,” an expensive idea for Center School that Ian Neviaser is starting with the costly pre-k expansion renovations to Center School in the 2019/2020 budget. These construction costs using taxpayer funds are taking money away from the needed repairs on the Region 18 property - tennis courts and gym floors, HVACs, water leaks, sewer problems, crumbling door jams, broken tiles on floors and ceilings, repairs to our heating systems and more. Our current facilities and maintenance in our 4 main buildings servicing our 1250+ students are clearly falling short of the expectations of our town, they are not in our current budget nor have they been properly funded in previous budgets from this administration.
Lastly, with the serious threat of legislation from Hartford including Regionalization, our Board of Education should be challenging Ian Nevasier to produce a zero increase budget. Saving money and preparing to fight for our schools and towns within the bankrupt state of CT should be the number one priority for our Board of Education. By removing the pre-k expansion proposal, the renovations to Center School, adjusting for the $150,000 decrease in insurance costs and making efforts to reduce heating costs by $300,000 (covering/removing A/C units, adjusting classroom temperatures so the faculty does not open windows in overheated classrooms in the middle of the winter), the Region 18 2019/2020 budget could be flat from last year. In addition, the Region 18 budget CAN use some of the saved money from previous years to fully fund necessary existing repairs. Creating new, unfunded programs and expanding the amount of buildings to service our children when it is not mandated by the state, does not support the Region 18 goals expected by the taxpayers of Lyme and Old Lyme. The Board of Education can remove the proposed program expansion and associated expenses, they can put forth a budget that fully supports our existing k-12 program and facilities and fund our schools this year with a 0% increase to the taxpayers of Lyme and Old Lyme.
May 1st at 6:30 PM at Center School is the next Board of Education meeting - make your voice heard in person
or through email. It's not too late, just be sure to reach out to EVERY Board member - all nine - so they know what is important to you, the taxpayer!
https://www.region18.org/district-information/board-of-education
Thank you for your consideration and for sharing with your friends,
On behalf of The Taxpayers of Lyme and Old Lyme