To the Editor:
The Vernon Democratic Town Committee will strongly support the budget proposal passed at Tuesday’s meeting of the Town Council, which restores $1 million of the cuts previously taken from the original Board of Education budget proposal, and will urge voters to do the same in the June 4 referendum.
“In fact this is a historic victory,” Town Chair Bill Dauphin told DTC members in an email Wednesday. “Now it’s up to Vernon voters to secure this victory by passing the budget at next Tuesday’s referendum, so Vernon can begin to look to the future.”
The Democrats had asked voters to use the May 21 referendum vote and survey to demand that the Council reverse its previous cuts to the Board of Education budget, and they responded, with 52 percent of survey respondents saying education funding should be increased. A crowd of about 100 school supporters showed up for a rally on the town green Tuesday before the Council meeting, and most of them – teachers, parents, students, and concerned townspeople – stayed for Citizens’ Forum, collectively speaking for nearly 45 minutes.
The Council listened, with five Democrats and four Republicans voting to increase the Board of Education budget by $1 million, marking the first time in memory that a budget has been increased after failing at referendum.
The revised budget will face Vernon voters on Tuesday, June 4 at Center 375 on Route 30; the polls will be open from 6:00 am to 8:00 p.m.
Vernon Democratic Town Committee
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