OPINION: Ex-Enfield Legislator Weighs In On Sidewalks, School Funding

ENFIELD, CT — Are we still an All-American town?

In the early 1970s, Enfield was acclaimed an "All-American Town" by a national magazine. As a former "“All American City," we hope that our governing body can once again strive for that title. After witnessing what the majority party has recently done to our town, I don’t believe we will be given that accolade anytime soon, and that is sad.

What will this town council be remembered for? Decimating our local school system and squandering taxpayer dollars by wanting to demolish sidewalks on Abbe Road that were recently installed, also at taxpayer expense.

So, let's look at what the majority party has done to our image and to the school system and what it has done to those who have no voice ... our children.

First, the sidewalk issue. New sidewalks were installed on Abbe Road, affecting four or five residents. The sidewalks were installed at the request of a town councilor who recognized that older people and the disabled needed those walkways for safety.

One resident does not want to maintain the sidewalks and claims that the former town manager told him that the town would maintain them and shovel the sidewalks when it snows. If indeed

she told him that DPW would maintain the walkway, she had no right under the law or our state constitution to say this. Article 1 section 1 of our state Constitution states: "All men when they form a social compact, are equal in rights; and no man or set of men are entitled to exclusive public emoluments or privileges from the community."

This essentially means that no individual or group of individuals should receive a benefit from the town that is not available to anyone else. All residents whose homes abut sidewalks have to shovel those walkways as per municipal ordinance. These sidewalks were put in place for public safety.
People who wish to safely walk on that stretch of Abbe would be prohibited from doing so if the sidewalks were dismantled. People with disabilities and particularly older people need those
sidewalks. So the answer given by the majority party is to dismantle them at public expense.

Rather than spending time trying to improve our town (like making sure that our kids are given the best education possible), the majority party is bogged down with this silly notion of digging
up sidewalks that were flawlessly installed by a reputable contractor at taxpayer expense and now possibly removed again at taxpayer expense. Is this what makes for an "All-American
Town?"

And now there’s the education budget that an "All-American Town" has to address. Making draconian cuts in the education budget that will hurt one group of people who really have no voice - our children - is something that we should not be proud of.

By cutting the superintendent’s budget by almost $10 million, we’ll have this result:

1. A possible layoff of approximately 100 tenured and non-tenured staff, resulting in larger class sizes, and as interim superintendent Andrew Longey has said, shattering the livelihood and family life of these dedicated professionals.
2. We will also see the elimination of positions that are so beneficial and helpful to many of our students.
3. The elimination of reading teachers, world language teachers and the end of the sixth grade world language program are results of the budget cut.
4. Career counselors at Enfield High School are on the chopping block.
5. The sports program at the middle school will be eliminated.
6. And class sizes will increase that will prevent teachers from giving individual attention to those children who need it.

Bill Kiner
Enfield

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