Ansonia alumnus and colleague of mine Javier Argüello-Ordoñez recently published an excellent video breaking down Ansonia’s finances, as well as the truth behind the Ansonia School District’s funding.
This information should come as no surprise to keen-eyed spectators of this legal chaos, as these are points that myself, Javier, Janessa Bennett, and other advocates of education have been arguing since this began.
The point of this article is not to antagonize anyone or anything. For the entirety of this costly legal battle at expense of the taxpayers, I have simply wanted one thing; the real facts. Not some rhetoric or propaganda, but cold hard numbers. Thanks to Javier’s video, we have that. I implore all Ansonia residents to watch this video if they haven’t already.
Education is a very important matter, and if anything, Mr. Argüello-Ordoñez is the epitome of this fact. Being an Ansonia alumnus myself, and going through some of the same programs offered by the Ansonia School District as Javier, I can honestly say that it is no coincidence that we’re both fact oriented. The education we received as Ansonia students is what molded us into critical and free thinkers. We have our teachers to thank for that, and the fact that this is being threatened for generations to come is a scary thought.
Regardless of the outcome of this litigation, I want it to be clear that we are still a community of caring, connected people. Although we may not always agree, the rewards of being neighborly outweigh any political differences.
I personally want to thank everyone, on both sides of this issue, for their constructive criticisms. If we weren’t so passionate about this issue, it wouldn’t be as big of an issue as it is. I also want to thank Javier, for breaking down Ansonia’s educational and citywide finances into easy to understand terminology that those not acute to economics can understand. I am proud to call you my friend and peer.
No matter what side you are on or were on in this issue, I don’t take anything you’ve said personally, and I hope you haven’t taken what I said personally either. In the end, we all want what is best for Ansonia, and we all have different means of getting there.
The writer is an Ansonia native serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. His views are his own.
Views expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views of ValleyIndy.org. There is a 550-word maximum. Graphs and charts will not be published. Please keep external hyperlinks to a minimum.
