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NORWALK, Conn. Norwalk.DailyVoice.com accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be e-mailed to letters@dailyvoice.com.
To the Editor,
We sell cookies. We sell candy. We sell lighted roses.
We send out a letter of appeal. We staff bake sales on election dates. We sell cheesecakes. We sell magazines. We sell wrapping paper. We sell bracelets. We sell lanyards.
We host an auction and diversity dinner. We sell books at the book fair. We bring in a photographer to sell individual, portrait, and group photos. We solicit business owners. We solicit private funders and those who write grants. We have even made contact with a funder at a private school.
We ask parents to include a little extra when they send their child's field trip monies to use as scholarships for certain students. We purchase a lot of our own technology, such as installing wireless points. We provide food gift cards to families when there is more month than food money. Many adults who work at West Rocks solely contribute to the school versus contributing to other charities. West Rocks is our charity.
We are expected to carry the whole bag. We cannot fundraise to run the entire school. We were recently told by the mayor and superintendent at a BOE meeting and in The Hour that unless we have a trade-off for a budget reduction then we should say nothing.
It is not the role of the staff to make budget cuts. So what are we to do? Are we to trade people like in sports; the superintendent cuts two security monitors, but how about if I give you two custodians, they are in the same bargaining unit. Is that an ok trade? Can I trade cleaning for safety?
Some officials keep stomping on our students and make snide remarks such as throwing good money after bad. The highest official in our city commented to me on several occasions that people believe the city is throwing good money after bad. Tell that to our students; tell our students that they are bad, and we do not want you if you need an IEP, or need a reading or math literacy teacher. But we sure like you, if you are in advanced placement or academically talented.
See in Norwalk, we sort people to our advantage. The people who should be at Board of Education meetings to speak about the sorting and the funding do not typically come. So let's take care of the persons who do come to meetings; that seems to be how business gets done.
And we will never improve because of the grudges. The students cannot do anything about the city's grudges against Dr. Corda, because he did not honor the recommendations of the Price Waterhouse Report. That was in 2001.
Then there are the grudges against the unions, "the unions should do XYZ," but no one has tried to build relationships with unions, just tear down. Then we have those who find fault with everything. The district didn't; the district never, the district this and the district that.
In the meantime, the students have to be taught every day. How will the students be taught and be safe with a reduction in teachers, administrators, security guards, teacher assistants and yes, libraries, which is just plain embarrassing. Elementary schools will have no assistant principal, no library, utility teacher assistant, or priority assistant.
The BET, Mr. Wilms, the Common Council, and the mayor drew the line in the sand. The message is, "Let them eat cake." We will treat the potential golfers significantly better. We will look out, or is it an excuse, for the taxpayers and not the least of them, the students.
This is a statement Ms. Moore read at the June 5 Board of Education meeting.
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