To Greenwich Roundup:
I am submitting for publication the following letter to the editor in support of the BOE candidacy of Marianna Ponns Cohen.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Hal Rogers
| To the editor: We are very fortunate to have Marianna Ponns Cohen on our Board of Education. And she deserves our full support for a second term. This is why. Ms. Ponns Cohen has consistently advocated that the Board allocate resources more fairly among our schools, when others haven't. When she joined the Board in 2007, Marianna discovered wide discrepancies in school funding among schools not accounted for by school size. Some schools received over $17,000 per student (New Lebanon) and others received around $7,000 (Riverside). She recommended that the Board review its allocations. Her fellow Board members rejected this self-evident review, though Boards are mandated under Connecticut law to provide "equitable allocation of resources among our schools." Who will have the courage to advocate for that if is she is not there? In addition, prior to her joining the Board, student residency verification was handled at each of our 15 schools, with varying degrees of latitude. As part of responsible stewardship of the Town's funds, Marianna successfully promoted centralized student residency verification to ensure consistent application of the rules. Now there is residency verification at varying entry points in the public school system. Since Greenwich spends $18,400 per student, 10 non-resident students alone would cost our taxpayers almost $185,000. This would divert funds away from educating our students and improving their achievement. Our taxes should be going to educate our Town's students, not out of Town or out of state residents. Marianna's actions are the very definition of responsible leadership. I will vote for Marianna Ponns Cohen on November 8, and expect you would want to do so as well. Hal Rogers Riverside, CT |
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