Glastonbury Tax Payers AGAINST the CLOSING of Eastbury School and Town Wide Redistricting

SWIFT ACTION NEEDED – PLEASE JOIN OUR PETITION

As early as this coming Monday, May 9^th, the Glastonbury Board of Education may vote to CLOSE Eastbury School, which will lead to town-wide redistricting of over 400 elementary school kids.

Please join us in opposing this vote by signing this petition so the BOE hears us loud and clear - DO NOT CLOSE EASTBURY SCHOOL!

The BOE has proposed this in response to financial constraints established by the Town Council and Board of Finance for this year and a fear that such pressures will increase for the next year.  Among these rushed deliberations, shaky enrollment projections and unsubstantiated financial savings, we have not heard how this proposed closure would improve the quality of the education of our kids.  The BOE seems to focus only on closing Eastbury and consolidating schools in reply to budget pressures which unfairly threatens the quality of the education of our youngest students. 

Apparently, closing Eastbury is being considered the lesser of two evils.  In addition to impacting over 400 of our elementary school kids that will be redistricted to make room for the 260 Eastbury kids to be absorbed into the system - most likely to Hebron Avenue School and Hopewell School, closing Eastbury will result in:

• An INCREASED and overcrowded class size in all K-5 classes in ALL elementary schools (some schools are already there) - a scenario that cannot improve the quality of our kids’ education

• Spanish classes will be taken out of classrooms and put on a cart.

• All remaining schools will give up one computer lab

• All 3-5 classrooms will need new IPADS to take Smarter Balance Testing (part of the plan laid out by the BOE) to justify taking the computer labs to create the space needed to close Eastbury

• Your property tax assessments will remain the same, yet your homes value will go down as the education system is no longer the same as when you bought your home. 

The Board of Education needs to hear from us. Ask them to advocate only to improve the quality of our kid’s education, our town’s biggest asset.  Join us in asking them to specifically reject any action that may lead to a decrement in education.  It’s time to engage in a town-wide debate on our education priorities – it is in all of our best interests to maintain or improve education.  Any decrement will directly lead to a decline in the value of the town and our property – nobody should support that.  Tax increases associated with roundabouts and boat houses are examples of costs that don’t improve the long-term value of this town.  The Board of Education does – let them know that you will support them if they will only fight harder for our youngest.  

Rather than a hasty deliberation supported with questionable enrollment projections and dated financial studies, ask them to take action this Monday to take control of the process for evaluating a school closure, instead of reacting to a drastic budget cut imposed by the Board of Finance.     

Please sign and forward to this survey to all Glastonbury taxpayers. Let's join together to keep Eastbury open and work to improve our town’s education.