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NORWALK, Conn. Norwalk.DailyVoice.com accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be emailed to letters@dailyvoice.com.
To the Editor,
In a recent letter to the editor, I argued that the current Board of Education budget crisis was caused by a long-term, systemic failure by this administration to adequately fund the BOE. My letter drew an almost immediate personal attack by one council member who accused me of being "political" and of having my "facts wrong." While I do not believe that the personal nature of the assault is worthy of response, the underlying assumptions in that letter merit reply.
The author claimed that I was using the current crisis to "play politics" and suggested my views were of recent origin. The record will show that for some time I have argued that the city has not adequately funded the BOE. In the 2011 election, I campaigned on a pledge to support the BOE and I specifically argued that the city's approach to budgeting needed to be reformed. I put forward this argument in public debates, letters to the editor, television and media interviews, and on the floor of the Common Council. My support for the BOE and my advocacy for city budget reform have been documented and longstanding. (A copy of a thirty-minute television interview I gave last October where I explained my detailed views on the budget can be found at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bu4-ARLPtg, and is shown above.)
If you want to ask who has been playing politics, one does not have to look far beyond the author of the attack and his GOP colleagues. Since the budget crisis was publicly disclosed, council Democrats have been quietly working behind the scenes to address the issues in a positive way. Members spoke repeatedly to the council majority leader urging the creation of a bipartisan council committee to focus on the BOE issues. Members spoke repeatedly in private about the need for an independent examination of the BOE books. (In the end, the council Democrats' public call for a "forensic audit" drew howls of protest, only to be responded to with a pledge for an "independent examination" by an "auditor.")
The council Democrats originally offered a rescue plan calling for a $4 million loan to the BOE. That resolution failed largely on a partisan vote. We went back to the drawing board to draft a more conservative resolution to gain some GOP support. Prior to the June 26 council meeting, one GOP council member agreed to co-sponsor that resolution which called for an appropriation of "up to" $1.8 million from the city's fund balance. When the mayor and GOP leadership learned of this member's support, the majority leader shot a strongly worded message demanding that council Republicans withhold their support. The offending council Republican did so and was subsequently quoted in the Hour as saying he or she would vote against the very resolution the member agreed to co-sponsor just days before. In yet another reversal, once it became clear the resolution would pass, the GOP collectively changed their minds and voted in lockstep to support the resolution.
Thus, it seems disingenuous to suggest that this writer is the one "playing politics." Rather, perhaps those "playing" are those who voted for a resolution they now condemn will "loot the city's rainy day fund."
Finally, the attacking author seems to suggest that the city has adequately funded the BOE and the current crisis is attributable to the timing of insurance payments and issues with special education spending. The problem with this argument is that, if true, all 169 cities and towns in Connecticut would be facing the same challenges. If the premise were true, we would expect to find that in some years we overfunded these items and some years we underfunded them. That just does not seem to be the case.
The ultimate proof of underfunding, however, comes from the administration itself. For years this administration has argued that Connecticut provides inadequate support for Norwalk's schools. The stated goal of these efforts is to increase state aide so that we increase overall BOE funding. But you cannot credibly claim that the state provides inadequate school aide and at the same time claim that the city provides adequate funding. Trying to do so undermines our efforts to convince Hartford of the need to address a funding imbalance that harms our schools.
We should welcome the opportunity to discuss the way in which our city funds its priorities. Norwalk treats the process as if it were an accounting exercise rather than the vital allocation of scarce assets among competing priorities. There is a better way to make these difficult choices. So let's stop the name-calling, engage in a civil debate, and forge constructive solutions so we can build a better Norwalk.
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