PROTECT THE QUALITY OF OUR KIDS’ EDUCATION
Vote Yes on Tuesday, June 18th. Empower Connecticut Region 20 Schools.
The budget is as lean as it can be without compromising the quality of our kids’ education. We must pass it to protect the programs and give our students the support they deserve.
Yes
Provides stability for teachers and students, and maintains and attracts the highest quality teachers
Yes
Maintains optimal classroom sizes, high-quality programming, and extracurricular activities for students
Yes
Increases property values and attracts young families to continue building our vibrant communities
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if we get to July 1, 2025 without a FY26 budget passed?
The district defaults to the last approved budget in the amount of $41,156,724. That budget (FY24/25) was over $2.3M under-funded. This means that $1.95M would have to be cut in addition to the cuts in the proposed amended budget. Cuts like these would decimate our school system and put our students at a disadvantage as compared to other similarly sized districts, creating very weak educational programming.
How is this different from the May 6th budget that failed to pass?
There is a 2.6% operating budget reduction from the May 6th budget. This new budget maintained reductions already made this year (11 staff), and added another 8 full time staff reductions. This budget adds 7 more reductions, making the total reductions from July 1 until now 26.
Does a failed budget impact property value?
You bet! Schools greatly impact property values. There is great evidence that communities that invest in education bear the fruit of higher property values. Within the four Region 20 towns, decrease in enrollment and increase in students attending private schools has been a cycle that both Region 6 and Litchfield Public Schools systems have been trying to break for many years. Having a strong school district attracts young families to our towns, increase property values, and provides a better chance at increasing enrollment in our school systems.
How can I trust the Board of Education to be fiscally responsible?
There is a new, experienced team in place who are cleaning up the mess they inherited. Region 20 fully supports an audit of Region 6, Litchfield Public Schools, and Region 20, and has already taken steps to strengthen fiscal oversight and ensure this never happens again.
Where can I find detailed budget information?
Comprehensive budget information, Board of Education meeting minutes and presentations, and other details can be found on the Region 20 website.
Where can I find more information on how this will impact my property taxes?
Both Warren and Goshen have already passed their town budgets with this budget number included, which means the mill rate has already been set regardless of whether the budget passes or fails.
Litchfield and Morris have not held their town meetings for this approval yet. The Litchfield board of finance is anticipating the current budget amount and estimating the mill rate based on that.
Specific information on tax impact for your assessed property value in your town can be found here.
VOTE YES ON JUNE 3rd
VOTING LOCATIONS
Goshen: Camp Cochipianee
Litchfield: Litchfield Fire Station
Morris: Morris Town Hall
Warren: Warren Town Hall
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