10/21/2021
The Fairfield Education Association (FEA) is proud to endorse Craig Curley, Sheila Marmion, and Kevin Starke for election to the Fairfield Board of Finance.
Over the last two years with COVID, many have realized our schools are so much more than educational institutions. They are a safe place where parents can send their children, which in turn allows parents to work. That in turn supports the local economy, enhances our housing values, and ensures the town has the necessary resources. Our schools work hard to make sure Fairfield’s children grow into the best version of themselves, capable of positively contributing to society. Our schools help students build confidence, positive self-esteem, and good decision-making capabilities. Our schools are a public good and not merely an operational expense that should be traded off against current crises, whether it be the fill pile remediation efforts, the need for a new sewage treatment facility, or something else.
For more than a decade, town bodies have reduced the funding requests of the Board of Education over $20 million. While other comparable districts have been increasing their school budgets by 3-5% per year, Fairfield’s yearly increases have averaged under 2.5%. Those reductions dropped our per pupil spending from 29th in the state in 2007/2008 to 66th out of 169 towns today. The practical effect of those reductions are felt every day in our schools.
We’re dealing with:
- A drastic reduction in elementary art instruction as a “trade off” for additional social workers to support our students’ social and emotional needs.
- A paraprofessional shortage, largely due to their embarrassingly low pay. These staff members are essential to running our schools and supporting special needs students.
- Inadequate heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in many of our schools.
We are all left to wonder what is next. Trading off music to remediate mold? Cutting back on business, culinary, or gifted-student programs so we can support our struggling learners? These are not the choices schools in a town like Fairfield should have to make.
Electing Sheila Marmion, Craig Curley, and Kevin Starke to the Board of Finance represents a unique opportunity to pivot away from these false choices. For all three, their professional and community experience have provided them with extensive expertise in bonding large capital projects, strategic budgeting, and the institutional memory to know where Fairfield has been and where we are going. More importantly, they see our public schools for what they are, an asset of the community deserving of support and investment.
If you care about the health and well being of our schools and Fairfield’s children, I urge you to join the teachers of Fairfield and support Craig Curley, Sheila Marmion and Kevin Starke for the Board of Finance. Our schools can no longer be squeezed financially.
Bob Smoler
President: Fairfield Education Association
