Submitted by Janet McMahon
Are you (or will you be) a public school parent?
Are you a homeowner who cares about your property values? Are you a taxpayer who wants your hard earned tax dollars spent responsibly and efficiently?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, vote for Laura Erickson and Janet Stone McGuigan on November 7!
Here’s the #1 reason why the First Selectman’s race matters. Every year, the First Selectman gets the first whack at the entire town budget, but specifically the Board of Education’s capital budget. Last year, the Board of Education requested $85.5M for the (long overdue) rebuild of Central Middle School and $24.5M for the (also long overdue) renovations at Old Greenwich School. Despite Fred Camillo’s frequent assertions that he supports these projects, he inexplicably slashed those budgets to $75.2M and $0* respectively.
With Laura and Janet, however, you’ll never have to worry about them flip flopping on our schools. You will get their unwavering commitment to public education and fiscal responsibility. Both Laura and Janet raised their kids through Greenwich Public Schools from K-12th grade. Both women have a proven track record of supporting the Greenwich Public Schools capital and operating budgets – Laura frequently pushes back on her Republican BET colleagues and Janet on the Board of Selectmen. Both women advocate for rebuilding CMS and renovating Old Greenwich School expeditiously, not only because it is what the overwhelming majority of Greenwich residents want, but because they know that every day of delay costs us taxpayers more money in the long run. Both Laura and Janet understand that building high quality, state of the art educational facilities will translate to higher property values for ALL of us in Greenwich, whether you are a public school parent or not.
In short, electing Laura and Janet will ensure that your hard earned tax dollars will not be wasted on preventable and fiscally irresponsible construction escalation costs, estimated to be around $3M per year, per school, or $6M and counting. Both Laura and Janet will watch out for our kids, our wallets and our property values. Please join me in voting for Laura Erickson & Janet Stone McGuigan on November 7, the ticket for a BETTER GREENWICH!
Sincerely,
Janet McMahon
GPS Parent
*Mr. Camillo later added back $1.1M to the Old Greenwich School capital budget, just enough to not kill the project.
Note: Deadline to submit letters to the editor about candidates in the Nov 7 election is Oct 30th at 12:00 noon.