Region 14 Budget vote today

Did you know there is a vote Tuesday May 6th? 

The Board of Education has done a pathetic job looking out for the financial interests of Woodbury and Bethlehem residents.  Enrollment continues to drop.  Spending continues to go up every year.  For this budget, the Board only proposed a 1.02% increase. This sounds good, until taken into proper context. 

Projected enrollment is declining another 3.6% and it has been 10 years since there was an enrollment increase (which was only 1 student).  Yet spending has gone up and up. 

The current budget proposes an increase of $327,466.  Included is $390,000 set aside for future interest on the pending high school bond.  That money will not be spent on this in this upcoming fiscal year, so where will the money actually go?  Once the board receives the total budget, they can spend it as they please.  If more money is needed in a later year, then the board should ask for it then. 

The region is proposing spending $270,000 on security cameras.  Cameras do not stop safety issues, only report information after the fact.  This expenditure is unnecessary and does not make anyone safer. 

Please review their proposal for yourself at:

http://www.ctreg14.org/uploaded/BOE/BOE_Budgets/budget_landscape.pdf

Neither of these items impact education and are not proper uses of our money.  We need to vote no on Tuesday May 6th.