Why Do The People Keep Rejecting The Seymour School Budget?

Note: Seymour School District Superintendent MaryAnne Mascolo sent the following message to parents and school district employees Friday morning, after residents rejected the town and school budgets for a second time.

Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff,

Both the Town and Board of Education budgets failed again. The Town had 710 YES votes and 856 NO votes. The Board of Education had 644 YES votes and 919 NO votes. Only 1,566 citizens voted.

I am very frustrated, disappointed and saddened by the results of this referendum for the Town and the education budgets. The education budget should never fail as we have over 1,800 families with children in the district. Even if one person per household voted, the education budget would pass with flying colors.

Seymour is a good district that provides your children with a good education. We have terrific faculty and staff that go above and beyond every day for the children of Seymour. Are there areas where the district can improve? Of course there are. To be great is to strive for excellence every day knowing that you can never stop the pursuit. A great education is one of the best gifts that you can give to a child. I want this district to be great and provide a great education for your children and I know you want the same. 

So, I need your help to understand why the education budget does not pass year after year. Is it that people… 

  • Cannot afford the tax increase?
  • Are apathetic?
  • Are disgruntled with the school district?
  • Or is there something else?

I would like to share a story because I believe it illustrates a very important point. After receiving a zero increase to the education budget for a second year in a row; the Board had to make very difficult and unpopular decisions. Freshman sports were one of programs that were eliminated that year. During a board meeting, eight individuals stood up and complained to the Board members that their decision to eliminate freshman sports was wrong and they demanded that it be reinstated. I had the voter list in front of me and 7 out of the 8 people did not vote yet they complained about something that personally affected their child. In my opinion, the only person that had the right to complain was the person who voted. Today people are fighting and dying in other countries for the right to vote. Whether you vote yes or no does not matter. What matters is we should never take this privilege for granted.

Over the past 10 years, we have tried everything we could think of to educate the public on the importance of supporting the education budget. I am at a loss for what we could do differently or better. I hope that you can help me to improve in this area so that we do not have to go through this disheartening process in the future.

Sincerely,
MaryAnne

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