Letter: 'Bob Hebert Won't Waste Our Tax Dollars'

To the editor:

During the October 11th Board of Education meeting, we learned that the State of CT, via the biennial state budget (voted for by all of our Democrat state senators and representatives) is forcing a “one-size fits all” literacy program on all school districts statewide.

The Ridgefield Public Schools spent 2 years and over $250,000 to find and train teachers for an appropriate, evidence-based literacy program for our district, only to have our efforts wasted at the state level by a thoughtless vote by our local representatives.

A direct link to the BoE meeting, beginning at the section on this new unfunded literacy mandate:

Superintendent Susie DaSilva said during this meeting: “I encourage everyone who can speak to a legislator to be sure that they are communicating the amount the time and thoughtfulness that school districts have engaged in and how decision-making like this is just not reasonable”

As a Board of Education member, we now have to reckon with the budgetary consequences of this mandate.

Bob Hebert has spent his time on the Board of Selectmen thoughtfully working with our BoE and Board of Finance to come up with an annual budget that works for our students. He knows the many impacts of unfunded mandates like this literacy one, or the mandated classroom curriculum being pushed down from Hartford.

These decisions should be made in Ridgefield, for our students. Not at the Statehouse for political posture.

Sean McEvoy

High Ridge Ave