Budget cuts and reality
In her May 17 op-ed (“Educators on front lines deserve support”), Maria DeVito suggests the Board of Education should be exempt from budget reductions which result from the devastating impact of the coronavirus. Part of her reasoning for this is that “about 96.4 percent of able Stamford workers are employed,” which implies an unemployment rate of 3.6 percent. This is one of her key reasons for suggesting the effects of the pandemic should not have much impact on the city’s property tax income. If her facts were accurate about the current state of employment in Stamford, she might well be correct. However, her employment data is from reports compiled by the Connecticut Department of Labor for March — before more than 30 million people lost their jobs nationally. Massive numbers of people also lost their jobs in Stamford during the last two months. A drive around the city to see the huge numbers of closed retail stores, restaurants, small businesses and numerous other facilities makes this clear. The idea that our city’s finances will not be impacted by what has transpired is fantasy.
DeVito says “this is not the Great Depression.” We all hope that is true. But let’s have a reality check. The national unemployment rate spiked from 3.5 percent in February to 14.7 percent in April. This is the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, when unemployment grew from 3 percent in 1929 to 16 percent in 1931, then soared to 25 percent in 1933. It took two years from the 1929 market crash for unemployment to reach 16 percent in 1931. We have nearly reached that point in two months. Will we recover in a matter of months, or will it take years? Will the economic devastation become worse than it already is or not? Of course, no one can answer these questions with any certainty. What is clear is that the city must react quickly with prudent steps to deal with the unpleasant reality we face. The principled actions of the Board of Finance in calling for no increase in property taxes and a $35 million reduction in the proposed city budget are wise first steps. This will result in a city budget with about the same level of spending as the current year.
DeVito closes with a strong suggestion that the BOE portion of the budget should not be reduced because,“the Board of Education is the one city department that will be on the front lines every day, every shift.” We all value our schools and our teachers. However, I fear DeVito fails to recognize we are all on the front lines of dealing with this virus each and every day. Other city departments, such as the police or health departments, might feel they are certainly “on the front lines” every day.
The BOE budget is 47 percent of the city’s current $598 million budget. If we are to be successful in reducing the proposed fiscal 2021 budget to keep control of our expenses, then the BOE must participate in that cost control initiative. There is no way to reduce the proposed budget by $35 million — or any amount close to that — without the BOE’s participation. This will leave the schools’ budget at about the same amount as the current year, which is not so bad compared with the economic pain and suffering being endured by so many. Further, teachers’ compensation and all other compensation must be considered as part of this, as payroll and benefits currently represent 75 percent of the Board of Ed budget.
We must all row the boat together to get through this with a strong city and citizenry intact. No departments should regard themselves as so unique that they do not need to take a seat in the boat with the rest of the city. I have no doubt DeVito is a dedicated and effective teacher, and we all value her, as we value all of our teachers. But, my plea to her and her colleagues is to “jump into the boat” with the rest of us. We need you to get where our city needs to go. Barry Weston is a Stamford resident.