ENFIELD, Conn. — Hundreds of teachers rallied outside of Enfield's town hall Monday calling for the Board of Education budget to be fully funded, which would be an 8.6% increase from their current budget.
Enfield’s Mayor Ken Nelson, Jr. campaigned on fiscal responsibility and not increasing taxes.
“For years we've been underfunded in Enfield through the recession in 2008 through COVID. We've gotten nothing extravagant,” said Bill Delaney, vice president of the Enfield Teachers Association.
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If the Board of Education doesn’t get a 8.6% budget increase, 121 teachers will have their positions cut, which is nearly a quarter of the district’s staff.
“I’ve been in Enfield all my life and I've never heard a number that high,” said Kelsey McGuire-Bruce, a teacher in Enfield Public Schools. “It sends a message that we don’t care about our kids, and we cannot let that message go.”
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Town leaders said teachers should be going to state leaders instead.
“They should be rallying at the state of Connecticut right now, because the state has shorted us over $600,000 in special needs cost,” said Nelson, Jr.
Connecticut Education Association President Kate Dias says this budget decision will impact not just school be the entire community, saying these practices need to be a thing of the past.
“When I started my career, this was the regular bogus practice, and it was demoralizing. It brought down our profession. And it took decades to get out of that hole. So, if we let these practices squeak back in, we're going to continue to have an educator shortage that is terrifying…not just for Enfield, but for the entire state of Connecticut,” said Dias.
The council has until May 20 to agree on a budget and get it passed before June 1.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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