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2013 Monroe Budget Feedback Survey

1. Did you support the 1.75% BOE funding increase in the first referendum?
Response Percent Yes No 82.6% 17.4% answered question skipped question Response Count 381 80 461 23

2. Please share your recommendation for fundling levels in the second referendum:
Increase budget beyond proposed percentage. BOE 1.75% Increase 12.9% (60) Maintain at proposed percentage. 66.5% (310) Decrease from proposed percentage. 20.6% (96) answered question skipped question

Rating Count

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3. Please share your feedback about the budgetary priorities for each of the following areas:
Important enough to fund 27.4% (131) 31.7% (153) Not important (do not fund) 22.2% (106) 9.8% (47) Rating Count 478 482

Very important

Full day kindergarten BOE security enhancements Common Core State Standard Implementation (required by Connecticut) Maintaining class size School Resource Officer in every school

50.4% (241) 58.5% (282)

51.0% (241)

43.1% (204)

5.9% (28)

473

61.0% (291)

32.3% (154)

6.7% (32)

477

44.4% (211)

32.2% (153)

23.4% (111)

475

Other (please specify)

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4. Where do you get your information about the budget?


Response Percent www.monroeps.org www.monroect.org Monroe Patch (online) Monroe Courrier/CT Post (print edition) Channel 17 BOE Meetings Word of mouth Superintendent presentations 46.5% 22.5% 61.4% Response Count 219 106 289

51.8%

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8.5% 16.6% 34.6% 27.2% Other (please specify)

40 78 163 128

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answered question skipped question

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5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:
Response Count 160 answered question skipped question 160 324

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Q3. Please share your feedback about the budgetary priorities for each of the following areas:

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If any give back is required it should be the the variables-Insurance, snow removal, utilities etc. a school resource officer does not need to be in every school they can rotate throughout the day or visit throughout the week this would give them enough time to know the students - do not give a false sense of security- one person can not secure a school building Isn't the goverment supporting a portion of this? why do we pay first the also get funding after budget process and not let anyone know how much was funded.It always seems to happen in this town nothing is said when we get funding for things.WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO???? Security and the sense of security felt by my children is of the utmost importance to me. It's not that I don't feel that full day kindergarten and common core implemention are essential, they are, but at this time I can't see putting anything above security. maintaining or updating technology and resources (books, computers, etc.) Police patrols spend a percentage of each day parked. Why not have them park in front of our schools when not responding to a call? Police officers should not be at school. I do not want a miliary state. We cannot go around teaching our children to be scared all the time. Cuts need to be made to town side of budget There shouldn't need to be budget allocations for teachers to meet standards, they should be able to implement standards Can't afford an increase you have teachers that shouldn't be teaching in each of the schools you need to do a better job budgeting salaries for these teachers and especially the administrators. Music and Arts need funding too! Please ensure all extracurricular activities, including sports are fully funded, I do not know individual line items, but if the budget constraints call for student activity fees and athletic fees, I am in favor of fully funding them. Full time reading teachers in the high school and STEM to support students and the Common Core I provide technology to K12 schools in the Northeast. We currently hold the state contract in CT but do no business with Monroe PS. You IT department has been using the same company based on a personal relationship vs best value. The IT department is NOT doing their homework by engaging other companies which shows me we/Monroe are not spending in this are to get the best for our students. I will continue to question the leadership in the technolgy department and how the allocated dollars are spent. this is a very narrow view of items that need to be looked at. Please also add things like teachers and staff contributions to healthcare and union raises. if we

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Q3. Please share your feedback about the budgetary priorities for each of the following areas:

have the teachers pay more healthcare costs and only give merit raises, there will be funding available for these types of items 16 17 18 the closer you get it to a 0% increase, the sooner it will pass. that is the talk on the street with the No voters due to the economy. SRO - Not as a full policeman If something has to be cut to pass the budget, I would opt for the SROs. In an ideal world I would love them at the schools, but they are more of a "nice to have." MAINTAIN CURRENT STAFF LEVELS AND COURSE OFFERINGS!! Please maintain the level of the arts. They are always the first to get cut and there are hundreds of students affected. Reducing class size, reducing pay to play, bringing back musical instruments to 4th grade, world languages back to 5th grade, TAG program Building repairs/painting for schools better quality of education to prepare HS students for higher education and beyond What is a school resource officer and does he/she do? Providing a top quality education should be at the top of the funding list. So I support the superintendents plans and funding needs, as long as results are achieved. Fine Arts programs I'm in favor of replacing the funding for SRO's with additional mental health resources- Psychologists/Counselors Full-time guidance counselor in each elementary school full day kindergarten is at the bottom of my priority list. Reduce admin costs and overhead any other small reductions to line items to help bring down the total % requested stop pay raises from principal on down... We have to be competitive with local schools and full day Kindergarten is essential to not only our local children's education but our property values. Personally I don't think we need officers in the schools, but that's just one persons opinion. Cut the senior center budget since they are the population not supporting this referendum. Apr 4, 2013 4:26 PM Apr 4, 2013 3:46 PM Apr 4, 2013 3:01 PM

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Q3. Please share your feedback about the budgetary priorities for each of the following areas:

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Full day kindergarten is important but if you can't fund it then I would suggest into setting up a tuition based program to cover the cost. Continued support for non-traditional/STEM-like learning resources. Class sizes should be lower in the grades where they are high (25) Add funding for Full Day Kindergarten NEXT YEAR. Figure out the budget without these crazy yearly increases. Your running people out of town. werent the security enhancements already completed? Please please please keep full day kindergarten in the budget!!!!! update/upgrade facilities/buildings

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Q4. Where do you get your information about the budget?

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From the budget package and asking knowledgeable well informed individuals Facebook First Selectman communications Links in facebook or emails from Monroe Public Schools parent council Amy at Move Vavrek email newsletter Email notices as well through the town PTO presentations Social media Monroe Organized Voters for Education (MOVE) MOVE I attend BOF and BOE meetings during budget season. Innovation in the IT industry budget meeting Town email Emails from selectman None of the above, information should be mailed to every resident. MOVE emails wife Facebook Monroe Groups (PTO, Monroe voters, etc) monroevoters.com All of the above PTO Meetings PTO Meetings Facebook postings from Monroe Organized Voters for Education Facebook

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Q4. Where do you get your information about the budget?

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PTO / PTC meetings Monroe El PTO meetings Move Vavrek's FB page and emails BOF meeting emails from Town of Monroe Parents Council

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Q5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:

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the Superintendent should present one evening to educate all the parents in all schools. Listening to him made me understand the increase much better! Maybe a line item for getting out the vote should be added to the Core Curriculum The fact that administration is getting a 21% increase in pay. How is that justified when there are so many other areas that the STUDENTS can benefit from extra pay. I don't think a pay increase or hiring other administration is going to make a difference in students education. Account 5111 - Administration-certified having a 21% increase is very large compared to other salary increases; I do not support that. Everything else in the budget is good, and I voted no because of the town side, not BOE budget. Wish we could have voted on each instead of as a whole. Monroe does a fabulous job with what they have- keep up the good workThe most important thing, is to keep the cops in the schools and make security enhancements Why do you pay teachers and administrator staff so much? Higher pay doesnt mean better teachers. Also, when it comes to cutting back, dont cut back the neccesary services, cut back the non essential services. We know the game you play with the money. DO THE RIGHT AND MORAL THING FOR YOUR STUDENTS. We don't need all day kindergarten Reuse, recycle, reduce and weed out the fluff--my husband is not bringing home a paycheck and we focus on the absolutes only. Get the word out that these increases are necessary and scare the people that failure to support the schools will lead to property values going down Lower the class sizes. They are too large. Stop overtaxing homeowners in a misguided effort to attract new residents by making insignificant school improvements, and start recognizing that the residents of this town deserve quality roads, better infra-structure, and perhaps even deserve adequate snow removal, just to name a few. I'll gladly trade several over-paid, under-worked school administrators for snow-clearing equipment and qualified town maintenance employees. Perhaps we should remember that this is the "Town of Monroe" as opposed to the Town of the Monroe Board of Education;" a distinction easily lost in our ever-increasing funding disparity between the BOE and the Town. Before you dismiss this as not conforming with your entrenched position please note that we have two children in Monroe schools, have two masters and a juris doctorate between us, were educated in public school systems ourselves, and are thorougly disgusted with how the Monroe schools are managed. Keeping our children safe must be the number one priority. As a parent of school

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Q5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:

aged children and a toddler, I understand the importance of meeting the standards and full day kindergarten, but it should not stay in the budget if that would mean the security measures would be cut. Our children depend on us to educate them, but even more than that to protect them. 14 I think it is too much of an expense to start full day kindergarten as well as the new security measures all in the same year. I believe the security measures are items that should take precedence. I think full day kindergarten can wait for next year. Something has to give and I think the full day kindergarten should be put off for one more year. I feel security is important, however, I do nott feel there needs to be a police officer. A security guard with the level to have a fire arm, direct access to the Monroe Police, a walkie talkie to the office/police line would be benefical to the budget. Need to better explain why there is growth in expenses as student population declines. Need to let people know that actual impact of any/each specific expense reduction I feel that the BOE budget was fair and responsible, but the "no" voters will be looking for cuts...please keep them minimal. I am on the fence about SROs. While I'm sure of their benefit to the schools, I'm not sure of the necessity of having them vs. the other items in the budget. I feel that there is widespread sentiment against funding three new SRO positions. I will be voting yes again, regardless. consider whether we need a resource officer in every school, or would an office on each campus be adequate? I'm not sure what the security enhancements are, but be sure that they are truly going to make a difference before funding them. Class size & quality teachers are critical to me. Don't know much about how critical it is to fund the transition to core standards. I don't know what's involved, or what is at stake, so I can't help determine priority of this budget item. Although I'd like the budget to pass at current, I believe we will have to lose some funding for it to pass. Let people that want full day Kindergarten pay for it themselves full time kindergarten is not necessary at this time. I think a dec is needed for it to pass - you are doing a great job reaching out to those who usu vote no - unfortunately, it is hard to turn those who vote NO 1st round - hold fast! Full day kindergarten and security enhancements are a must! Maybe the teachers could have a copy paper budget or be asked to be conscious to copy back to back or put more activities on a page to save paper budget. May seem small yet when added up, could help a small bit... If enrollment is down, the budget should trend with it Apr 7, 2013 6:44 AM

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Q5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:

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SRO are very important to my family. My daughter has felt very safe knowing the officer is at ME everyday. check administrators salaries Please keep the budget as is. The forclosure of homes and the need for heating and the food pantry will increase.But I am sure nothing will be said about it.... Please consider sending this budget out without any cuts. Historically, Monroe residents have voted no to the budget and the board of education has "found" money and therefore the public doesn't believe that this is truly a very accurate lean budget. Please, Please do not decrease money from the BOE any more- let's please show the taxpayers that there is simply no room left to cut..... Somehow get parents out to vote. When I voted at FH, I was the youngest voter there by at least two decades. When I picked up my kids at Masuk after sports, all the voters walking in were again at least two decades older than I am. More direct communications with parents of students in the Monroe school system. If it is allowed and not considered "inappropriate", sending home info for the parents regarding the contents of the BOE's budget and why it is so important the parents make time to get out and vote at the next referendum. Please continue to find ways improve the capability level of our schools mnages - kudos and thank you. Get out the word to vote to the parents of kids. Can you used school events to do this. Do most parents know it was knocked down by less than 400 votes? Reach the paretns and let them know their vote does count! Thank you again Mr. Agostine. John Lafond There are so many nay sayers that write articles in the Courier and there information has embellishments. They usually increase the numbers to make the school system look worse. I think the BOE needs to report information to the public first BEFORE the negative people start writing inaccruate articles about it. I know it's probably a lost cause but if you read the Courier it's the same "the sky is falling" people who speak their minds and have their info wrong. Our schools need to be the priority in town! get more info out there - hard facts - there are too many big mouths who think they know more than BOE and they're the ones giving "information" which is almost always wrong or skewed - for example, be first to talk about enrollment decreases and explain that 300 kids across 12 grades doesn't mean you can cut teachers or buses; explain out the snow removal and heating increases; why the bus and teacher contracts go up; etc. Police patrols spend a percentage of each day parked. Why not have them park in front of our schools when not responding to a call? A strong Educational System is critical to Monroe's long term growth

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Q5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:

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Do not cut full day kindergarten. Extremley important for Monroe Education as well as property value in fairfield county. Thank you for all your effort Keep it as is. I do not agree with funding full day kindergarten as it would needlessly waste town resources. Monroe educators have consistently surpassed state goals WITHOUT full day kindergarten. Don't "fix" what is not broken. Common Core isn't even understood by the state yet - how can you fund against it? Full day kindergarten is a luxury - for those paying daycare it makes financial sens, not for the rest of the town. My kids learned more in the old YMCA Kindertime than they did in actual Kindergarten. I think families are still suffering from a bad economy. I think the increase of health insurance premiums on familes have hurt them too. I think that putting security measures into place is a nice idea but in reality if someone wants to get into a school they will no matter what. I think making sure we have consistent practices like lock downs and practice drills in the end is what helped save the kids in Sandy Hook from the teachers being prepared. We don't want to send our children to prisons each day.....and in reality the teaching is what is most important. Don't think the BOE can do much...the people of Monroe need to pull their heads out of the sand and realize that we live in different times...it's not like it was 50 yrs ago or even 5 yrs ago...SAFETY is huge and these kids need more classroom time as they're lacking with education. More cuts need to be made on town side of budget instead of threatening cuts to education. Budget money lost in the union requirements. they are not realistic to working in the private sector in which taxpayers work. Start with the unions Stop funding staff party celebration Your school budget needs to be looked at because if you asked the parents and student they could tell you that there are teachers that don't even teach them and shouldn't be doing so and the administration is being paid too much for certain jobs, Keep mil rate under 30.00 I trust the BOE, Superintendant, and FS when they say full-day K is necessary. My kids are already through K and further along in their education, however if you truly believe it is critical then you must make cuts elsewhere. School population is not going up. we need to maintain the budget at current level and become more efficient; do more with the same resources. May require difficukt decisions but I expect the schools to continue to be excellent without additional funding this year. At a time when many are out of work, money tight, and peaople are struggling, it

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Q5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:

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put items like across the board pay increases and other benefits in line with merit and the regular work place PLEASE preserve the budget!!! in highschool & perhaps 8th grade, you could do larger class size/ lectures in class topics that do not have labs associated with it for some subjects. people are saying if the student population is shrinking then why are the budget # s going up? the No voters want a 0% increase. it will be the BOE's challenge as to how to make that work. so many kids can access text books online now so, cut down copying supplies & textbook purchases. Inquiry based learning is more hands on ...so, less on the ditto copying & hand outs....do it right online and then if the student/ parent wants a print out, they do it at home, at their expense. Is it possible to consider a student tax? anyone in the school system would be taxed for the # of kids in school to raise $. then, those who are Monroe citizens without kids would not be affected by the school budget increases. Did the town consider separating the BOE and town side budget? pros and cons of that? Thanks for putting kids first. Too much fat goes into the BOE budget; BOE expects too much, and cries year after year for more money. The budget was well thought out and constructed and no cuts should be made. To do so would be a disservice to our children and our town. Let them cut the town side. Cut SRO, hold the line on the rest. Schedule parents events at the schools on voting day so people are there to vote I voted yes. Am disappointed that more parent voters didn't get out to vote to support this very important initiative. I moved to Monroe 10 years ago to start my family. I would hate to have to leave due to the education provided by the town. I am hopeful to get full day kindergarten passed! Enrollment down every year, yet percentage increase's every year. Doesn't quite add up. Do not increase costs. Maintain within the budget you were allocated the previous year. Nothing was discussed above about self funding insurance. THe SRO is not in the BOE budget ( this question can be misleading) What is the cose of CCSS not a cost that can be seen directly- full day only when required can not do everything all at once. Full day kindergarten is key as is security. The city needs to take a zero as the BOE for the past two years . Keep Full Day Kindergarten!!!!! Is there any savings with replacing the Stepney principle with a current Monroe staff member in which the position does not need to be replaced?

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Please represent the budget as is and we will rally to get more people to show up at the polls!!! You are doing a great job. Let's hope the no voters stay home next time! I think that people just don't understand what this is doing to theTown. Full day k and core standards are a must. Maintenance of our schools (particularly roofs at Stepney and Fawn Holllow) are a must. I think the BOE and the Town have made great presentations...I think parents need to get with the program and get out and vote!!! we should have telent program in our district Feel it's very important to have full day kindergarten. My children are past that age, so it doesn't personally affect me, but I see the extreme value. Please put the budget right back out the way it is....we cannot afford to cut $$$$$ do not succumb to the naysayers who do not feel the need to properly fund education. They have been bullying the BOE for years and will continue to do so. Suggestion: Have one officer roaming all schools throughout the day - this is what Fairfield does and it keeps costs down. Please don't drag out the decision on full day k. not fair to families who are planning for September and childcare. Stand firm! Many CT households do not have a 1.75 increase in wages. But yet taxes and costs continue to rise. Why can't the budget remain the same as it is done in other surrounding towns? How about you send copies of the proposed budge to residents. get the parents out to vote .... target the people who did not vote and get people to talk with them The BOE needs to reach the parent-vote. Parent voter turnout is historically low. The apathy that keeps them from the polls is the same apathy that prohibits them from becoming informed. Therefore, each referendum requires an aggressive, technological campaign to bring the information to them. I my opinion, quality schools are the #1 reason families move into (and stay) in Monroe, which ultimately benefits everyone. A $100 increase in my taxes is not going to impact my family as much as a deterioration of the school system. The budget gets voted down due to the low turnout of voters. It is an antiquated system. That aside, if we are to continue with a process like this, can we start moving in a direction that would enable votes to be cast via the internet, or by email? Assuredly, this would increase the voter turnout - and I believe would help the budget to pass more often the first time.

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Count the percentage of people that didn't vote as YES! There is nothing I can tell Jim that he doesn't already know. He is a smart man and I trust his judgement. Threaten to cut something from St/ Judes, like bussing, and the budget will pass. We cannot afford to delay Full day K any longer. I honestly believe that the problem with this budget had nothing to do with BOE. People were voting NO because they were annoyed with Vavrek's car and his large town increase. I pray that the BOE budget will remain intact. Simply can't afford another tax increase. This town is not business friendly. Sewers #1, planning and zoning #2... without those no businesses... residential tax can't do it all. If we have to chose one or the other of the school security improvements, I would select the School Resource Officer, or some variation thereof. publish voter list Send it back out for the 2nd time as is. The sharp decline in headcount and closure of one school in recent years has not been yielding the spending reductions that I think most people would expect to see. While you can say the decline is spread among class levels and schools, at the end of the day in the business world, if my revenue or customer base is down trending down, I have to bring my costs down overall, otherwise I'd be out of business! Secondly, has the BoE considered outsourcing certain functions such as landscaping and janitorial. Its rare to see any for-profit company employ its own janitorial staff, yet Monroe and many other school systems still employ their own support staff, paying overtime, sick time, benefits, and workers comp. that would not be directly incurred under an outsourcing model. In order to meet common core state standards there needs to be full day kindergarten. I'm scared that the SRO will disappear from each school . Security in the schools is of the utmost importance. I can deal with the roads, but if someone harms my child in school, that is something that you can't recover from. I would consider moving if security precautions, including SROs are taken out of the budget. Taxes are very high as it is.With many people stuggling to keep up, a burdon of additional taxes could mean additional families going into foreclosure. I think for the next years budget we need to find a way to have more teachers and staff retire. Give them their retirement packages and then we can get new ideas from new teachers and staff at a fraction of the cost that some of them are getting paid. Get rid of over paid teachers.

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Just make sure the reminder email about the vote day is correct. :) send it back as is to budget Please hold strong at the 1.75% proposed increased! 2 years of 0% increase is enough!!! Full day kindergarten is definitely needed I do not feel the BOE budget should be adjusted and should be re-presented as it stands now. Thank you! The vote was pretty close. Small cut backs and really getting all parents out to vote and support the budget would make a big difference! Don't give up!! stop SPENDING! this town is getting too expensive to live in do you understand people are losing their jobs daily?! You should be happy you have one! Stay strong and don't give up full day K or heightened security. That's what's going to keep citizens of Monroe in Monroe Please don't reduce the budget, our kids need this, I was so disappointed it didn't pass. Have town reduce something on their side to please no vote people, but do not touch the BOE budget Please! Thank you. JrH and grade school facilities need improvement. Please keep and or expand STEM program beyond Middle School. Have two children in the school system, strongly support STEM and STEM-like learning opportunities. I think this type of group work and practical application of teaching objectives is huge in helping children develop the skills sets needed to succeed in future work endeavors. My understanding is that much of the budget increase is for full day kindergarten. I supported the budget but am indifferent about full day and would not have an issue eliminating this portion of the increase. I strongly preferred half day for my children. I liked the idea that they could transition into full day versus being hit with this immediately- in our situation, my children were not developmentally ready for full day, 5 days a week. My children do very well academically and test very high so I do not see this as a necessity to be prepared for school 2, 3, 4 years down the road. On security, we need to be cautious of being overzealous. Not highly supportive of having armed officers at schools- think this and measures that lock down the school too much create a siege mentality- challenge is finding the right balance between safety (locked doors) and a 'police state' atmosphere. Last point is more of a question to consider- I am ignorant as to how much state or federal grant money Monroe receives versus what's available. Would hiring a full time grant procurement officer pay dividends by securing grant monies 3+ times their salary that might offset or supplement tax generated revenue? Just need more voter turn out. I know very few that actually voted. I have a first and third gradernatbfawn hollow. Both had half day kindergarten nod it was perfect.

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Q5. Please share any other feedback that would help the BOE in making good decisions as they prepare the budget for the next referendum:

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Teachers union needs to start making concessions, freezing salaries etc If the 1.75 is what we need to keep further damage from happening, please don't cut it. Continue to keep in mind that everyone is being taxed to death, in all directions. I can well afford to pay taxes and even I feel frustration about these increases. So many struggle to keep up, I can't begin to imagine how frustrated they must be. Thank you. Get parents out and support budget The Common Core State Standard Implementation should be funded by the STATE. If you can get the majority of the parents to support the budget then it would be successful. I personally don't understand why the parents do not support the budget. At least come out and Vote. If you can get the majority of the parents to support the budget then it would be successful. I personally don't understand why the parents do not support the budget. At least come out and Vote. DBudget info not readily avail. If increases are warranted, they should be spelled out and easily accessible Please don't cut ANY BOE proposals. They are all important for the safety and education of our kids - and if the schools start declining, then less people want to move into Monroe and ultimately everyone loses when housing costs decline with it. Reduce administration costs to help fund other important programs. You are paying the teachers and adminstration TOO much money. It is critical to invest in education for Monroe to be the type of town people want to move into. The residents need to understand a 0% budget is unrealistic and that small increase will benefit us in the long run. Make decisions that are right for student learning. I think we should do a better job reaching the working parents and getting the to vote, because those parents do not turn out to vote, we get the older community to vote and they do not have a vested interest in the schools any longer therefore the budget does not get passed We need to cut from the town side for example do not providing cars for Vavrek and other town officials and put our children's education needs first. I am not sure what else we can do. I don't think the non-voters disagree with the budget, but most pp don't understand the consequences of being absent of this process.

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Polling places were changed last year without prior notification. This may be a cause of low voter counts. I actiually was not able to vote due to time constraints and prior engagements. I vote a Fawn Hollow (now) but was unsure when I passed it on my way home. If I was certainly I would have stopped and voted. Being a parent of a three-year-old, I cannot stress enough the importance of a full-day kindergarten, as well as the importance of Common Core State Standards for my seven-year-old. These issues are very important to me, as is school security. I fully support this budget. Please continue to fight for the budget and maintain the funding proposed. Please do not eliminate the proposed increase to the BOE budget. Do not let the council take it from the BOE I'm saddened that you need to have this survey to support your case for the budget outlined. People just need to get out there and vote, which I beleive is the big problem. I would love to see the MOVE organization reach out to parents to communicate what is needed of them via. I know the schools can't come out and say "vote yes" but there's got to be a way here... my child is currently in full day K and I can't see her needing to be there for full day. the students receive very little instruction and watch an awful lot of TV. other than that, I support the BOE funding completely. PLEASE KEEP FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE CLASSROOM SIZE. Can you send info home in kids backpacks? We need to get more parents to vote!! Send out the budget breakdown with survey my daughter is in first grade and did good with half day kindergarten. most of her clas is at a second and third grade reading level. i will vote down any budgey with full day kindergarten. the money eoukd be better spent in upper grades. my son in third gets no music or gifted programss SROs only if they can be hired for the school day/year not 3 new full time officers School resource officers are only needed at the middle school and high school. We do not need a police officer parked at jockey hollow if we have our resource officer at jockey hollow. That officer should be at the sandy hook school and am addition to their budget not ours. After yesterday's discussion at Parents' Council, I am more open minded to the SRO's at school as they serve more of a purpose than what I had originally thought. I think than needs to be addressed to the public as most people believe it will just be a police officer sitting in a car. I'd like to see a regular cloths police office inside the building. I would pay more for education costs as a parent with a child in the school

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district to make up for the residents that vote no. 155 156 Stay the course. I personally think we need to look at other areas to cut back then on the education. Senior Center can be used or a number of other efforts that we need to explore and vet out, looking setting up desks for police officers - I know Bethlehem NY does this as my brother is a dective and works out of the middle school. The BOE needs to promote the fact that strong schools equals strong property values for Monroe citizens. keep pushing forward. help older people understand the value of educated young people. Thank you for all you do! I support you all 100%! the transparanency is excellent Apr 4, 2013 11:23 AM Apr 4, 2013 11:23 AM

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