There is no need to cut student programs if the BOE budget is cut. The budget savings could come out of the central office by reducing head-count. This would mean that the Principles and the Superintendent would have to work harder (e.g. on teacher review and curriculum) but that is justified given the budget situation and the need to keep student programs strong.
There is no intellectual, managerial, or educational justification for choosing administrative positions over student programs. Other institutions and school districts around the country have proven you can significantly cut District positions while maintaining or improving educational quality. The excellent administrators and support staff in the central office whose positions would be cut or changed could be transferred to open positions in the schools or other town offices.
There is a significant risk that continuing on the current path of raising taxes will soon produce enough voter backlash to bring to power individuals that would slash school and town budgets without foresight or reflection. This has also occurred in different places around the country, in some cases crippling the schools. We do not want that to happen here.
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While not related to the schools, we should also lease the rights to refurbish and operate the Penfield pavilion. This would allow a private entity to get the pavilion up and running sooner than will the town and also eliminate further financial risk for the town with regard to future, and inevitable, flooding.
The way to preserve a strong and vibrant Fairfield, including strong public schools, is to reduce head-count (ideally through attrition) and to eliminate non-essential programs. These programs could be added again as the situation improves in the future but through other means than adding additional town employees.
