Letter to Teachers Union Representatives

I am writing to you as a member of Howell T.R.U.T.H. - Townspeople Rooting Out Unnecessary Tax Hikes – and as an Ardena parent.Our group has poured over the budget, reviewed the adequacy formula, spoken with Federal, State, county and local officials as well as private enterprises all in an effort to find solutions to our budget crisis and to avoid a school closing. We have offered a number of budget cut suggestions and ways in which we believe the district could utilize its facilities to meet adequacy and generate revenue.The Board of Education is considering our suggestions, none of which have touched on building level staff apart from, sadly, the vice-principals. We do know at this point that closing one or more schools will result in some savings on account of operational costs, but mostly in terms of salary and benefits by a reduction of staff.T.R.U.T.H.'s goal is to pursue options that reduce costs without directly impacting our children as a first option before a school closing. We believe this benefits everyone, students, parents and staff alike. These are difficult economic times and we cannot rely on what worked in the past. We need new and creative solutions. We recognize that this will require sacrifices on everyone's part and we are prepared to make those sacrifices. However, we want to minimize the sacrifices made by those who are the most vulnerable in this situation - the children and the least senior staff in our district.We are asking you and each building representative to speak with your membership and union president and to meet with negotiations representatives for the Board to see if there are any items the union could concede on, even if only temporarily, as we search for more ways to bring our district out of this crisis.