Killingworth spends $17 million, 80% of our taxes, on education.
District #17 BOE held 4 public School Budget meetings this year.
1st Selectperson Iino did not attend the 1st meeting the BOE held specifically for the Selectmen of Haddam and Killingworth to give input on Budget planning. Ms. Iino missed a major opportunity to tell the BOE how increasing its budget would affect Killingworth, by raising our taxes. Ms. Iino did not press the BOE not to raise its budget, she chose to have "no input" on this important process. It seems she was uninformed about the sale of our District's school buses. Had Ms. Iino been there maybe she could have asked, “Was the District provided a projected cost comparison of potential savings prior to contracting with the Transportation Company versus District #17 operating its own bus fleet?” I did. I was told no comparison was available. An unsatisfactory answer considering the 30% increase in Transportation costs over last year.
Ms. Iino attended only the last meeting when the BOE voted to approve the Budget.
Richard Pleines, Unaffiliated for 1st Selectman, did not attend any of these meetings. I would think a candidate should know how $17 million of Killingworth’s tax dollars gets spent? Mr. Pleines did not vote in the School Budget referendum either.
As 1st Selectman I will do everything I can to support District #17 in becoming one of the best school districts in CT. I attended all 4 budget meetings. I also attended the Community Conversation on Education that was held this past April (Richard Pleines did not attend).
Families move to Killingworth for our rural community and the quality education experience here. Our Schools are an asset to our Community!
If we keep raising our taxes, families will not be able to afford to live here.
As 1st Selectman I will be informed and fiscally responsible. I will look for new sources of revenue for Killingworth instead of raising taxes.
Please vote Bill Romero for 1st Selectman - Killingworth
