Waging the ‘Good Fight’ on school funding in Danbury

To the editor,

Bad news for our kids.

The City Council just extended their two-decade record of seriously underfunding our Danbury schools. The parents, teachers and concerned citizens allowed to speak at a recent City Council meeting did their eloquent best. Most of the council members listened politely. Council members then boasted of their good intentions, played games with the numbers, conflated “wants” and “needs,” and whined about, “many unanswered questions.” But ultimately, the Republican super-majority (with one vote from a pseudo-Democrat) voted to stick our Danbury public schools behind the financial eight-ball another year.

Their stated rationale for underfunding the schools sounded very familiar. The same reps have been defending underfunding with the same lame excuses for two decades; 1. “We just can’t keep raising taxes.” 2. “But we gave the schools more than we did last year!” That second claim is especially insulting. As Danbury has demonstrated; If you fund your already starving schools at 97 percent (or less) of what they need year after year, the situation will only get worse year after year.

To those citizens still with energy to fight the Good Fight on school funding, there might another opportunity. At the meeting, due to an administrative screwup, or perhaps because the Old White Guys in Charge were tired and just wanted to go home, the council president tabled an agenda item worth $32,047,338 of uncommitted money from the

American Rescue Plan.

The mayor’s proposed plan to spend that money is not a secret, but was not provided at the meeting. His plan is buried on page 78 in the 216 page notice for the April Council meeting At their June 7 meeting, the City Council will decide how that $32 million will be spent. Be there, if you care. Be not distracted by what your council reps say. Judge them on how they vote.

Tom Brown Danbury