MONROE, Conn. — Many parents strongly oppose proposals to move eighth grade to Masuk High School, close the STEM Academy and eliminate freshmen sports, as well as eight-to-11 certified staff and five-to-seven non-certified staff positions, among numerous adjustments Superintendent Joseph Kobza is considering amid a budget crunch.
This came after the Board of Education cut Kobza’s initial budget proposal by $250,000, First Selectman Terry Rooney reduced it by another $1.6 million and the smaller increase didn’t cover rising costs for the 2026-27 budget.
Katie Tolan, whose daughter is a third grader at Fawn Hollow Elementary School and son will soon be enrolling there as a kindergartner, moved to Monroe four years ago, because of the town’s reputation for high performing public schools. She is among the growing number of parents concerned over higher class sizes and lost programming.
Rather than standing on the sidelines, Tolan took action. She started the Facebook Group Monroe Parents for Education, which quickly grew to 479 members, and started a petition garnering over 700 signatures to rally support for a request that the Board of Finance restore $1,850,000 to the education budget proposal.
“I was off social media for years, but this is keeping me up at night,” she said during an interview at Starbucks Friday morning. “I thought, ‘there has to be people who feel the same way,’ so I started the Facebook group to create a platform for people’s voices and as a way to share information.”
Kobza made a $78,553,993 education budget request with a 5.16 percent spending increase, which has since been reduced to 2.68 percent. The superintendent has said built-in costs of the operating budget — salaries, health insurance, transportation and special education increases — accounted for 5.05 percent of his requested increase.
This left $191,997 or 0.25 percent for new requests, including a new assistant principal position to meet growing needs at Stepney Elementary School, a 0.2 full time equivalent (FTE) for a math skills teacher at Jockey Hollow Middle School and a 0.3 FTE for a speech language pathologist at Fawn Hollow Elementary School.
Those new proposals were eliminated and Kobza outlined other potential changes at a recent Board of Education meeting.
Property values
Tolan expressed her belief that supporting the superintendent’s initial budget proposal is in the town’s best interest.
“This is a bipartisan issue,” she said. “It’s showing up for the town. Property values increase with a strong school system, so it’s an investment for the homeowner and the town. It’s in everyone’s best interest to invest in Monroe’s school system. We are people invested in our children’s education and future and we invite the selectman to a conversation.”
She said parents have emailed members of the Board of Finance and First Selectman Terry Rooney about the budget.
“The first selectman gave some responses where he blames the Board of Education, saying it’s them making the cuts,” Tolan said. “But we know they’re backed into a corner.”
Rooney attended the grand opening of the Monroe Ninja Academy on Saturday.
Asked if he is willing to meet with concerned parents, he said, “I talk to parents all the time. I go to restaurants. Today I had three conversations about the budget. They’re very passionate about it and so am I. The reality is union increases and medical insurance created a burden this year. It’s nothing Joe [Kobza] put in.”
Rooney said Monroe pays $49 million in state income taxes annually and only gets $6 million back for projects and programs, adding with less aid from the state to offset their budgets, Monroe and other Connecticut municipalities are paying more for things on their own.
“I have an obligation to put out a budget that’s sustainable and can pass at referendum,” he said, “because the people of Monroe have a voice and they do not use it. Fourteen hundred people out of 12,000 registered voters came out last budget referendum. The people I talk to outside education will never want their taxes raised.”
Rooney said he wants to be there for education and for municipal needs, but to be “responsible and fair, and always take into consideration the impact on the taxpayers.”
“Right now in town I have to look out for seniors,” he said. “We have seniors making decisions to pay for their medicine or to buy a loaf of bread.”
One state funding source the first selectman said Monroe is short-changed on is Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funds. He discussed the topic in an interview with Melissa in the Morning on WICC.
“I think that is real,” Tolan agreed. “The ECS is a problem. I know there is talk among parents to go to the capital. It’s the same number since 2013 and costs have gone up since. Yes, legislation needs to be changed and we are working on that. Until such time, it is in everybody’s interest to let the public decide if they want to fully fund the budget that the experienced superintendent proposed.”
“It’s not about emotions,” she added. “It’s about data and facts. We’re here. We’re not going anywhere and we will make our voices heard.”
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A call to arms on the budget without a simultaneous call to arms to against Hartford’s policies, the ones that continue to cause this havoc across the state, is short sided. For each email and letter sent to the Board of Finance, one should be sent to every state rep and senator, as well as to the majority and minority leaders and Governor in Hartford. Continuing to expect Monrovians to fund these mandates without any meaningful financial assistance does nothing but allow Hartford to pass the buck onto each and every one of us. This crisis started in Hartford yet people continue to punish local leaders for being put in incredibly difficult situations.