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Fairfield Polls Open for Education Vote

Fairfield’s voters head to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of the Board of Education’s funding for the next year. All the town’s polling places will be open all day so Fairfielders can vote in a referendum triggered by a petition signed by more than 2,000 parents.

Those who vote Tuesday will face just one question: Should the town appropriate an additional $800,000 to the Board of Education for 2011-2012? A “yes” vote indicates support for that increase in Fairfield Public Schools’ spending next school year. A “no” vote means that the budget will stay at $145,680,350 or about 3 percent more than in 2010-2011.

For the question to pass, the “yes” votes must not only be a majority, they must also total more than 25 percent of the town’s registered voters. After the latest round of voter registrations, the referendum now needs 8,640 “yes” votes to gain approval.

If the referendum passes, Fairfield’s schools will be able to restore some of the programs that were eliminated or cut last month. The Board of Education will have the final say, but Superintendent Dr. David Title said at the time that putting fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade Spanish classes back to their full schedules would be his “first priority.”

The $800,000 of new funding would have to come from Fairfield’s tax collections. The Board of Finance would calculate the final impact when it sets a new mill rate. But with approximately 20,000 properties paying taxes in town, the average change in payment would be about $40.

Polls are open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters in all 10 districts will go to their normal polling places, except for District 2. That district’s normal voting center, St. Pius X Church, is unable to host the vote Tuesday. All District 2 voters must instead vote at Burr Elementary School. If you are not sure which voting district you live in, the town’s website has a street-by-street guide, or you can call the Registrars of Voters at (203) 256-3115. The polling places for Tuesday’s referendums are:

District 1: Fairfield Senior Center, 100 Mona Terr.

District 2: Burr School, 1960 Burr St.

District 3: Dwight Elementary School, 1600 Redding Road

District 4: Osborn Hill School, 760 Stillson Road

District 5: McKinley School, 60 Thompson St.

District 6: Fairfield Warde High School, 755 Melville Ave.

District 7: North Stratfield School, 190 Putting Green Road

District 8: Holland Hill School, 200 Meadowcroft Road

District 9: Fairfield Ludlowe High School, 785 Unquowa Road

District 10: Sherman Elementary School, 250 Fern St.

Are you planning on voting Tuesday? Tell us which side you support and why in the comments below.

 

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