To the Editor:

We are writing to urge Princeton voters to go to the polls on Tuesday, April 17 and vote YES for the proposed Princeton Regional Schools budget for 2012-2013.

As parent volunteers for our local public schools, we work to raise funds to supplement and enrich our school communities, provide opportunities for all of our children, and ensure that all children can participate fully and equally in our schools regardless of family income. We see first-hand how each dollar is stretched in our schools and how real the needs are. We’d like to remind you that your support for the school budget this year is critical.

Why should you vote “Yes”on the proposed budget?

First, the proposed budget is conservative. It allows for a mere 1 percent growth over last year’s budget. This is commendable in light of the many non-discretionary operating cost increases that are well above 2 percent (such as energy costs, charter school payments, and health benefits). The small increase is also extraordinary in light of the district’s effective loss of over a million dollars of state aid over the past three years.

Second, the proposed budget preserves educational excellence. It allows the district to maintain the depth and breadth of programs and staffing while continuing to innovate and improve. In this way the proposed budget delivers excellent value. By approving it, all taxpayers and parents in the community can be assured that the high quality of our public schools — one of the main components of our steady property values and our community’s attractiveness — will not be diminished. Maintaining strong public schools benefits all of us.

In addition, unlike many other school boards around the state, our school board recently made the difficult but principled decision to allow Princeton voters to retain direct democratic control over their school budget. Board members realize that local control and community involvement are key to our public schools’ great success. We thank the school board for keeping this control in our hands.

We hope you will join us in exercising your right to vote on Tuesday, April 17, and supporting our high-quality public schools by voting YES for the proposed budget.

Jean Yelovich Durbin
Mt. Lucas Road
Cathy Rizzi, Stephanie Chorney, Beth Behrend, Bonnie Itkoff, Sue Bowen, Nila Eisenach, Stacy Pibl, Ronica Sethi, Cindi Venizelos, MaryBeth Parker