Improving the Ansonia school system is one of the main reasonsI am running for re-election as Seventh Ward Alderman, and why I am proud to support Mayor Dave Cassetti.
Over the last four years Mayor Cassetti and his team have been powerful proponents of our schools, increasing budgetary funding the Board of Education by over $3.8 million, or a 14% increase, since 2013!
Notably, these numbers represent a 3.4% average increase over four years, which is far stronger than the 1.8% average over the previous eight years.
Also, these budgetary increases are permanent. By law the Board of Education can never be funded at a lower amount than the previous year, meaning that every budget year starts at the “high water mark” established by the last year’s budget.
This only underscores how much of a commitment each and every budget increase is for Ansonia’s taxpayers.
I would also note that the budgetary increases do not show the full picture, as the city has spent at least another $1.5 million dollars on in-kind services over the past four years (for items such as insurance) that are not reflected in the yearly budget.
Of course, supporting education means more than just increasing funding to the Board of Education. That is precisely why Mayor Cassetti and his team are exploring ways to study how to efficiently and effectively work with other school districts.
Partnerships with other schools offer Ansonia the potential of increasing the quality of education while keeping the costs to taxpayers affordable.
Members of the Board of Aldermen have introduced a resolution to commence such a study this past August, and are now working with our counterparts on the Board of Education to get the process off the ground.
While the roles of the Mayor and Aldermen are technically limited to funding (the aldermen set the yearly budget, while the mayor makes a recommendation), there is no telling what can be achieved from future collaboration between the City of Ansonia and Board of Education.
I am excited at the prospect of getting involved to better public education here in Ansonia. I believe an innovative approach that looks for outside-the-box solutions while being respectful to taxpayers should be our ultimate goal when it comes to supporting our schools.
The writer is a candidate for re-election representing Ansonia’s Seventh Ward on the Board of Aldermen.
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