Hello Windsor,

Today, I address you as a Windsor resident and not as a member of the Windsor Board of Education.

On May 14, 2024 Windsor residents went to the polls and rejected the current town budget. I stood outside the polls for a few hours and many voters came up and talked to me about how they cannot afford anymore in taxes considering the high cost of groceries, gas, housing, ect. It just confirms what I said at the BOE budget vote that people are hurting and are being forced to cut back on expenses and now they expect their town government to do the same. To send the same budget back without reducing it is a slap in the face disrespecting every voter who came out to vote on the referendum.

The Board of Education budget needs to be reduced again by the Council. The budget was passed 5 to 4 along party lines and it was made clear by the Democrats on the BOE that they were not open to any cuts instead they shoved a 6.40 percent increase down our throats which was later reduced by the Town Council by a million dollars but still we need to go further. I’m in full support of Councilor Pelkey’s motion where he proposed to cut the Board’s budget by 1.3 million dollars. It’s time the Board starts living within their means. Voters also need to know once you raise the Board’s budget you can never go back. The increase is there forever and 60 percent of the town budget is spent on the school district, that’s 64 cents on every dollar we spend. The notion Republicans don’t care about educating our kids is completely false. The Democrats are using this as a scare tactic to trick voters into voting for a tax increase.

The referendum has become more than just dollars and cents. It’s about respecting the Will of the voters.
I respectfully ask Windsor voters to vote No on the budget referendum on June 18. Send a clear message to Windsor Democrats to respect the democratic process. Together we can keep Windsor an affordable place to live.

Best Regards,

Jeremy Halek