To the Editor:
A familiar story is circulating in Monroe: that “Hartford’s underfunding of education” has left our town with no choice but to impose intense cuts on our schools. It may be a compelling story to some, but it is incomplete and misleading.
Local Republican officials have worked hard to turn “Hartford” into a distraction, steering attention away from years of their own fiscal missteps. Missing from their narrative is how local tax policy and priority-setting have left Monroe unable to handle predictable cost increases without threatening children’s learning. Remove the talking points and it becomes clear: Hartford is not the villain. It is the excuse.
The First Selectman recently claimed that some Monroe residents are being forced to choose between “buying bread or medicine.” If that is truly the case, it is not an argument for cutting education. It is a damning indictment of his administration’s failure to protect residents in need. A town government that proudly touts its fiscal stewardship cannot simultaneously admit that families are choosing between basic food and essential medication, then point the finger at rising school operating costs. That contradiction belongs to Town Hall, not to the children of Monroe.
Federal law (IDEA) originally envisioned covering up to 40 percent of the national average per-pupil cost of educating students with disabilities. Congress has never come close to honoring that commitment, typically funding less than half of that target. The result is that states and local districts, including Monroe, must make up the difference out of their own budgets. Connecticut’s Excess Cost Grant, meant to help towns manage these expenses, has been capped and underfunded for years. When local leaders point only at Hartford, they erase this decades-long bipartisan federal failure.
However, the students who will feel the First Selectman’s cuts most immediately are the children who already face the greatest obstacles. As of February, 709 children in our schools, about 20 percent of Monroe’s students, receive special education services. For many of these children, school is not simply about keeping up with assignments. Every day requires extra effort. They may be struggling with reading, learning to communicate, regulating emotions, or simply finding the confidence to participate in a classroom.
Their success depends on smaller classes, specialized instruction, and staff who have the time to give them the attention and patience they need. Those supports are not luxuries. They are the lifelines that allow these children to learn, grow, and feel that they belong.
When class sizes increase and staff are reduced, those lifelines begin to disappear. The children who struggle the most are asked to do even more with even less. These are students who already work twice as hard as many of their peers just to keep pace. Taking away the supports they rely on does not make their needs disappear. It simply leaves them struggling in classrooms that are less able to help them succeed.
Behind every one of those 709 students is a child who wants to learn, a teacher trying to help them, and a family hoping their community will give them the chance they deserve.
Monroe’s own numbers undermine the claim that the only solution is to cut schools. The First Selectman’s proposal shows the Board of Education requested roughly a $3.6 million increase. His plan removes $1.6 million from that request, leaving schools with about a $2 million increase (2.68 percent). At the same time, the municipal side of the budget still grows by roughly $2.07 million, or 6.33 percent. The message is clear: while schools are told to sacrifice, other parts of town government get a pass and a raise.
Accountability should not stop at the schoolhouse door. Municipal spending has climbed by more than $2 million, with police personnel costs and other town expenses continuing to rise. Each item may be justified in isolation but taken together they reveal something harder to ignore: the toughest cuts are being reserved for education.
Perhaps most troubling is the way this debate is being framed. Instead of bringing residents together to tackle a shared challenge, the First Selectman has chosen to pit them against each other. It is a divide-and-conquer strategy that will not solve Monroe’s budget problems.
Real leadership does not hide behind talking points, lash out at dissent, or rely on convenient scapegoats. It means owning the town’s choices, confronting them honestly, and working toward solutions that strengthen the community for the long term, not spin designed to survive one more campaign season.
Chrissy Martinez
Member, Monroe Board of Education, D
Jerry Stevens
Member, Monroe Board of Education, D
Alan Vaglivelo
Member, Monroe Board of Education, D
Identifications are for affiliation only; we are writing as individuals, not on behalf of the Monroe Board of Education.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
