STRATFORD — Dozens of teachers, students and parents rallied outside Town Hall ahead of the monthly Town Council meeting Monday night, advocating for a fully funded Board of Education budget in 2022-23.
After an hour of near constant noise as cars honked in support, chatter and some occasional chanting, one resident stood at the podium and did not say a word for a full minute.
“I thought we should observe a moment of silence because that’s what it will sound like if a school is closed,” Lawrence Haddad said in the public comment portion of the Council meeting.
Superintendent Uyi Osunde said the district could consider closing a school in town among “significant reduction measures” in a letter to teachers obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media on May 4. The BOE’s budget proposal from the town may force the district to cut staff and programs.
Mayor Laura Hoydick’s budget proposed a $123.2 million budget, representing a 2.5 percent increase but more than $2 million short of the $125.7 million figure the BOE passed in its budget recommendation. Her budget lowers the mill rate from 39.47 in 2021-22 to 36.46 in 2022-23.
In a procedural vote, the Ordinance Committee voted 5-4, along party lines, to send the proposed budget to the Town Council, which will conduct a special meeting on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers. The town charter requires a budget be passed by the Council by Thursday.
The vote forwarded a townwide budget of $249.1 million, which includes $125.5 million for the town in addition to the BOE allocation. The town’s portion of the budget fully funds...
from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Stratford-parents-teachers-and-students-rally-17160932.php
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