DARIEN, Conn. Darien came out to support the towns budget Tuesday night as each speaker at a public hearing at Town Hall asked the Board of Finance to approve the spending plan.
Nearly all of the speakers focused on spending for the schools. Terrie Van de Graaf from the Council of Darien School Parents pointed out that the increases proposed in the school budget that are not due to special education costs or contractual obligations amount to only about $700,000.
We as a town need to ask ourselves what investment is needed to sustain our excellent education and support real estate values in our community, she said.
Margot Congdon of the parents council said the Darien school district is able to spend less per student than peer towns is because Darien students are offered fewer programs. She said the elementary schools need a foreign language program as well as an additional social worker and psychologist for kids in crisis.
As budget pressure on the schools has grown, so have contributions from parents and other groups who have filled the gaps, Congdon said.
The only comments on the towns side of the budget came from Phoebe Cush and Jenny Bealle, who serve as co-presidents of the Depots student governing board. The two teens asked the town to approve an additional $12,500 in funding for the Depot for the teen center to continue offering its service for youths.
Laura Grozier, who serves on the Council of Darien School Parents as a special education budget representative, praised the schools administration for how it has handled the lack of state funding for special education and found efficiencies in Darien's programs.
Several high school students also stood up and asked the Board of Finance to support an additional teacher at the high school and a psychologist to help stressed out students.
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