Cindy Dion says she voted yes “for the kids.”
Robert Costigan said he voted no because “the board of education is out of control.”
The two were among more than 600 people who had cast a ballot as of noon, in the fourth referendum for the proposed Seymour Board of Education budget Thursday, June 14.
Seymour residents are voting all day on the $30.39 million proposal for 2012 – 2013.
It’s a 2.02 percent increase over current spending.
The budget, if approved, would set the town’s tax rate at 32.83 mills.
Voter reaction outside the polls Thursday was mixed. Several people echoed concerns about spending at the Board of Education, specifically on administrators’ salaries. Click here to see the Board of Education’s response to concerns about administration costs.
“I think the education department is top heavy,” said Seymour resident Rex Lowe. “They could stand some more cuts.”
Lowe suggested the Board of Education trim another $300,000 from the proposal before sending it back to voters.
Others said Seymour needs to support the students — who stand to lose programs and teachers if the budget is trimmed more.
“I don’t want to see them get cut,” said Karen Quinn, whose son is a freshman at Seymour High School. “They’ve done so many cuts already.”
“I think it’s time,” said Nicole Klarides-Ditria, the deputy First Selectman on the Board of Selectmen in Seymour. “We need to pass it for the Board of Education, for the town, and for the kids.”
The current rate is 27.62 mills. However, the town went through a revaluation in the past year.
Town officials have recalculated the current rate to 31.95 to allow residents to make a better comparison.
The school budget failed to pass at three previous referendums. Click here, here and here to read about each one.
The town budget proposal, at $21,161,166, passed at the third referendum.
For more information, click here to visit Seymour’s website.
Or click here to read everything the Valley Indy has written about the budget.
The notice for the referendum is listed below.
