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Open Letter to Ted Goerner, Pres., West Hartford Teachers Union:
Ted Goerner was recently quoted in a political mailer supporting my opponent Derek Slap in the race for the 19th House seat. Mr. Goerner says that I “consistently voted against our schools.” I was surprised and disappointed by the quote and reached out to Mr. Goerner to discuss the basis for his false statement. He has not responded to me.
As many in the community know, as a Member of the West Hartford Town Council I support all of the stakeholders in public education which include the schools, teachers, parents, and students. For example, this year I fought to bring public attention to the school administration’s plan to sell hundreds of seats in our public schools to an international for-profit education company, a plan opposed by many teachers and parents alike. I stood up for transparency and public input, and my opponent remained silent on this highly controversial issue. I also mentor at Duffy Elementary School and participate in the Career Pathways program in our high schools. My record speaks for itself.
It is true that I have voted no on the last three town budgets which include the school budget. I voted no because the budget increases during that period have exceeded $20 million and almost all of the spend is for labor costs. This amount of spending is too high and unsustainable, particularly at a time of significant declining enrollment. My position on the budgets is not “against our schools” as stated by Mr. Goerner, but instead a vote in favor of our taxpayers and in support of fiscal sanity. Unlike Mr. Goerner, I represent all stakeholders – our students, teachers, parents, and taxpayers – as a town councilor and will continue to do as a State Representative.
Under long-time Democrat control at the State level, towns (including West Hartford, Avon and Farmington comprising the 19th District) are suffering under State budget cuts to education cost sharing, cuts to open choice funding, and cuts to special education, all of which leads to teacher and staff layoffs and elimination of important services. If this is not bad enough, a State court recently found our State government’s funding of public education is irrational and unconstitutional.
If you are concerned about these significant State budget cuts and the negative impact they have on our schools (and you should be), if you support open and transparent representation, and if you want reliable and predictable school funding for the teachers and students, then vote for me, Chris Barnes, on November 8th.
Chris Barnes
Member, West Hartford Town Council
Candidate, State House of Representatives, 19th District
