Please support this budget with your YES vote. 

We are grateful to the Town Council and the Board of Education for working together this year to produce a budget that minimizes tax impact while maintaining services for our schools, library, roads, fire department and public safety.  In advance of the election, please show your support for this collaborative effort. 

Follow this link and add your name to the list of YES voters:  http://tinyurl.com/yes-for-tolland  Please ask your friends and neighbors to do the same.

This year’s proposed budget will give the Board of Education a 3% increase in spending and the Town Government a .74% increase in spending.  The total proposed budget increase for the entire budget will be 1.85%.

The current mill rate is 29.73 and the proposed mill rate will be 29.99.  This will yield a .87% tax increase for this year.  This tax increase will result in a monthly tax increase of $3 to $8 per month for the average taxpayer.  You may calculate your exact cost increase by going to the Tax Calculator on the town website: http:///www.tolland.org/tax-calculation-form/

The polls will be open on Tuesday, May 1 from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Hicks Gym in the Town Hall and the Senior Center near the post office.

Poll Locations: Hicks Gym in Town Hall & Senior Center near the Post Office

To find out where you need to go to vote, visit:

http://www.tollandelections.org/

Current Mill Rate: 29.73

Proposed Mill Rate: 29.99

Proposed Mill Rate Increase is .87%

Overall Budget Increase: $934,572

Overall Budget Increase: 1.85%

This year’s Grand List growth is .89%

http://www.tolland.org/tax-calculation-form/

(monthly amounts shown to nearest dollar)

I believe that the budget proposal by the Town Manager provides Tolland with the resources necessary to continue our tradition of superior education. While the Mr. Werbner’s proposal is lower than our request, cost savings provided by the continuing efforts our dedicated staff and consultation with our partners on the Town council should offset the difference with minimal impact on our plans for 2012-2013. We understand and appreciate that Steve has to look at a larger picture than the Board of Education to provide affordable services to all of Tolland’s citizens.

Chairman, Tolland Board of Education

Friends of Tolland Schools is encouraged by the positive approach taken by our elected leaders toward working together during this challenging budget process. As previously stated, we support funding for the programs and services as proposed in the BOE budget. Town Councilors believe that this can be achieved under the Manager’s current proposal.

By next Tuesday, in advance of the Town Manager’s Public Hearing, we now ask for the BOE statement on the degree they believe that existing programs and services can be maintained under the Manager’s proposal. We thank the BOE and Superintendent for the spirit of cooperation toward achieving this shared goal.

As we come to a critical point in the cycle for the current budget process, we challenge our leaders to continue to look for further collaborative opportunities that extend through the coming year and beyond. Relevant and enduring issues for our education system include

• Fair access to co-curricular activities (including an affordable Pay-to-Participate rate)
• Curriculum development and delivery
• Appropriate staffing (including teacher to student ratios and teaching teams)

These can only be successfully addressed on a multi-year basis. We are encouraged by the long-term approach being used to tackle technology, economic development, and other concerns and ask our leaders to approach essential education issues with the same intentionality.

School supporters are urged to participate in the remaining budget events. One of the most important meetings of the budget process is the Public Hearing on the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget this Wednesday, March 28th at 7:30 pm in the Tolland High School Auditorium. Please be there to hear the Manager’s proposal to the Council and voice your opinion about the priorities for our community.

We are hopeful that, on May 1st, Tolland residents will have the opportunity to vote on a spending plan that represents a balanced approach to meeting the needs of our community in a fiscally challenging period. We look forward to continued collaboration among residents and elected and appointed officials for a strong and sustainable Tolland.

On behalf of Friends of Tolland Schools,

Andrea Kuhn, Brenda Falusi, Deirdre Goldsmith, Diane Clokey, Erin Burns, Jackie Kolb, Jen Miller, Jennifer Avery,
Karen Moran, Kelly Pabilonia, Ken Kittredge, Sam Adlerstein, Suzie Lotreck, Trish Doyle

The reply to this request is posted on Tolland Patch, Letter to the Editor:  http://tolland.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-statement-to-tolland-citizens-from-council-members

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March 20, 2012

Dear Town Council,

Tolland’s students need your leadership. According to the Superintendent, the budget that the Town Manager has proposed to you will result in unprecedented losses in educational opportunities. If you refer to the “at risk” list that was presented at the February 17th Board of Education meeting (attached), every item on that list and more will not be funded under the Town Manager’s plan.

What Is Your Intention?

The effects of these losses will be immediate and far-reaching. Loss of the team structure at the middle school goes against all of what is known about the best practices for reaching students at this age in the most effective way. Dr. Willett can certainly describe this in more detail. TIS, a school with a high special needs population, will lose instructional staff. Class sizes at Birch Grove, already high for teaching foundational skills to young children, will be increased to levels that will exceed teachers’ ability to meet all state and federal requirements and reach all students. If any co-curricular activities remain, the costs will be so high that that they will be unreachable for many of the students for whom they would make the most difference. We already have in the school culture an unacceptable divide between “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to accessing these opportunities.

Losses in maintenance and custodial staff seem small, until you add them to the losses that have already occurred. Not staffing the buildings to properly care for them will surely come back to cost more in the long run.  Our community has already experienced the effect of less frequent cleaning of school buildings. This has occurred in the form of rising incidence of illness among the school age population.  The technology on this list represents baby steps toward what we will need to conduct mandated state assessments by 2015.

We are calling for action. Each of you named education as a priority when you were running for your current position. You recognized the important role of a strong, sustainable education system in a strong, sustainable Tolland community. The Superintendent and the BOE are telling you that the proposed funding will weaken this system in a way that will effect every student.

If you believe that there is a way to both avoid these losses AND support the Manager’s level of funding, please share that with the public and the BOE this week - before the Manager’s hearing on March 28th. If there are questions about the numbers - resolve them now. And be forthright with the town about what they will be losing under this plan.

It is essential that when the voters get their turn on May 1st, they understand that their leaders have given them a chance to vote on a budget that is in the best interest of ALL of Tolland’s residents. Under-investing in our community now means that we are all paying more for less.

FTS has been building both a website and a network of citizens that it communicates with regularly. We invite you to share your perspective on how you will approach the Manager’s budget. On behalf of Tolland residents, we request that each of you reply to this email by this Thursday, for us to share and help other citizens understand the issues as well.

Thank you for your service to our community.

Abbie Jeffries, Bob Rubino, Brenda Falusi, Deirdre Goldsmith, Diane Clokey, Jen Frese-Miller, Jennifer Avery, Jenn DiMaso, Jackie Kolb, Karen Moran, Kelly Pabilonia, Ken Kittredge, Lisa Harley, Sam Adlerstein, Suzie Lotreck, Trish Doyle

On behalf of Friends of Tolland Schools

What’s happened so far

•  The Superintendents originally proposed a BOE budget increase of 5.98%
•  The BOE reduced that budget to 4.64% and submitted that to the Town Council
•  The Town Manager is now proposing that the BOE budget be reduced to 3.00%

•  Houses with a Market Value of $174,246 would see an annual tax increase of $38
•  Houses with a Market Value of $280,186 would see an annual tax increase of $61
•  Houses with a Market Value of $536,262 would see an annual tax increase of $117

What happens next

•  Wed, March 14 @ 7:30 in Council Chambers (Overview of whole budget)
•  Tues, March 20 @ 7:30 in Council Chambers
•  Wed, March 21 @ 7:30 in Council Chambers

We are actively seeking members of one of our five advocacy teams.  Each team is an important component in achieving our short and long term missions.  We can’t do it without people like you … there is no one else

Once you join one of our teams, you will be given access to our collaborative work space.  We do much of our work electronically and through conference calls.  We strive to involve a number of people while recognizing how hectic your life already is!

Want to find out more?  Please contact Sam Adlerstein Sam@pinehillassociates.com

Dear School Supporters,

This past Friday the Board of Education passed their proposed budget to the Town Council. The Town Council will now review and then decide on this budget over the next several weeks. On Tuesday, April 3rd, the Council will finalize the budget that goes to May 1 referendum.

What can you do to influence these decisions?

PLEASE come find out next Saturday morning, 9AM – 12PM at the Crandall Lodge. You will be offered a number of opportunities for you to decide where you fit in. This meeting is a significant opportunity to make a difference in the future of our students and of the quality of life in Tolland. Bring a friend! Please RSVP or send you questions to Jackie Kolb at kolbjacqueline@yahoo.com or Ken Kittredge at 860-872-8838 or maxadrenalin@aol.com.

If you have never been to one of these meetings, you will not be alone. This is our kickoff meeting where new people come to start getting involved.

Toward that, State Representative Bryan Hurlburt will lead a conversation on the nuts and bolts of getting real results.  Superintendent Bill Guzman and Board of Education Chairman Andy Powell will be there representing the schools.

“Ashford, Tolland and Willington deserves a state representative who will provide real leadership and get real results. Our challenging times demand nothing less.“  ~Bryan Hurlburt

In past years we just haven’t had enough people involved at this point in the process. It is understandable. We have so many other priorities in our lives screaming at us. The result has been lost referendums. Last year alone ~ half a million dollars was removed from the school budget by rejected referendums, and half of that reduction came down to 37 votes.  With your help, we could avoid multiple referendums.Here’s the thing. No one wants higher taxes, so Tolland most often votes against them without fully considering the impact. We intend this year to be different. The discussion has already moved much beyond just costs, focused on services. If school costs must be reduced, who best to do it? The Board of Education struggled for weeks to reduce the cost of their budget. Unfortunately this required sacrificing some programs and service. The Town Council does not want to harm schools and, through working together, we will find additional efficiencies. No one person has all the answers.  CLICK LINK –> The Town Council and Board of Education have DRAFTED a preliminary goal to work on together, in a meaningful way, in the coming months and years.

Do you feel that Pay for Play in Tolland is too high?

This is only one of many things that have impacted schools over the past years of reductions.

What other aspects of education in Tolland concern you?

Pay for Play is not a singular issue. It is the result of complicated, multi-year scenario where school cost increases outpace funding sources. An annual ‘short-view’ process of taking issues one by one results in a ‘long-view’ where we all lose. Because educational programming has been significantly cut bit by bit over several years, pay for play is only one of the unfunded priorities of different factions of the town and school community.

Please join us on Saturday

This meeting is a significant opportunity to make a difference in the future of our students and of the quality of life in Tolland. Bring a friend! Please RSVP or send you questions to Jackie Kolb at kolbjacqueline@yahoo.com or Ken Kittredge 860-872-8838 or maxadrenalin@aol.com.  Can’t make this meeting and want to be involved in future events? Email Jackie and Ken.

…. Because you make the difference in Tolland!

Officials in attendance:  Karen Kramer, Mark Gill, Althea Gill, Josh Freeman, Rick Field, Jan Rubino, Jack Scavone, Christine Howard, Steve Clark, Tom Frattaroli, Bob Pagoni, Bill Guzman

What did they talk about?

The meeting started off with fairly low energy.  “I’m tired!” one participant proclaimed.  These officials spend most evenings at one meeting or another in service of our town.  Yet, as the meeting progressed, passions were activated.  Each of these people cares deeply about what happens to Tolland.  They feel responsible for making their best, positive impact.  They expressed concern that the current system isn’t working and drives divisiveness in town. They expressed concern that everyone is looking just at a number, a percentage increase to the budget.  They expressed concern that more residents don’t get involved and don’t come out to vote.

Officials drafted a goal statement

The instructions were to NOT make it pretty, rather to get the collective thoughts down.  Here’s the DRAFT goal statement participants agreed upon:

BOE, Town Manager and Town Council supports and town votes in a mutually agreed upon budget.

• Our budget should be perceived as efficient and should include alternative ways of delivering services where appropriate
• Our budget should be responsive to the needs of the residents and students of Tolland while being fiscally minded.
• Our budget is a direct investment in our town’s future
• Our budget should find the balance between delivery of service and fiscal responsibility
• Our budget should be more easily understood by the public with respect to cost and priorities
• We should have a plan for effectively communicating and disseminating information, building upon what we already are using.

 So….?

Reading this over, clearly it isn’t easy … otherwise, we would have done it already!  What is in the way?  Obstacles listed included

• Not enough revenue increase to cover fixed cost increase
• Voters are polarized either toward the BOE budget or the Town Manager’s budget
• Some won’t bend, consider other points of view
• Disengagement / lack of awareness of programs/services and their value
• The economic picture
• Unfunded mandates / public perception that the school budget is bloated
• Lack of pride

And …

… with this list of formidable obstacles our officials went to work.  In groups, they began developing potential solutions.  These are IDEAS, possibility thinking.  While few are likely to be adopted “as is” one idea seeds another and through the creative process plans of action are developed.

IDEAS that might address polarized voters

• The Board of Education and Town Council first unify within, THEN combined toward a mutually agreed upon budget.
• More careful language mare made that don’t incite one perspective against another.
• BOE and the town submit their budget to a third party, such as a board of finance.
• We work to infect pride through sports, music, plays and coffee houses.
• We engage well known residents and their networks.

Solutions to other obstacles were brainstormed

In the end, participants were please about this process.  What will be done next?  One participant remarked,

“Next year we need to begin this [collaborative process] earlier!”

Another remarked,

“I didn’t want to come tonight.  Now I’m glad I did.  This was good.”

Meeting handout (.pdf) is here

Photo credit:  Jayme Kunze