Dear All,
As Superintendent Bellizzi communicated to Wallingford Public School families on April 2nd, there currently exists a gap of ~$3.9M+ between the 2024-2025 BOE budget request and the Mayor's recommendation. ~$3.1M+ of that difference relates to sustained services. Staff wages and benefits make up ~80% of the budget. None of the ~$2.7M in BOE capital improvement item requests were recommended for funding. While potential impacts have yet not been communicated, if the BOE request is not restored in whole or in part through Town Council action during budgetary process steps upcoming this week, the School District will need to take actions in order to reconcile.
Given the potential significance of and interest in this situation, we wanted to highlight ways that families and residents can engage in the process to communicate with the Town Council.
(1) Email Town Council Members in advance of the April 23rd Town Council Meeting and in advance of the April 29th Budget Public Hearing. Town Council Member email addresses can be found at https://www.wallingfordct.gov/government/departments/town-council/
(2) Attend and speak during the Public Question and Answer period of the April 23rd Town Council Meeting. The agenda can be found at https://www.wallingfordct.gov/minutes-and-agendas/DownloadFile.aspx?FileID=10881
(3) Attend and speak during the Budget Public Hearing on April 29th. The legal notice to the public of the hearing can be found at https://www.wallingfordct.gov/minutes-and-agendas/DownloadFile.aspx?FileID=10883
Sincerely,
Bryan Rivard & Valerie Glynn
System-Wide Parent Teacher Advisory Council Chairperson & Vice Chairperson
