THS Student Council: Account Transfer was 'Unlawful'

To the Town Council:

As Trumbull High School Student Council officers, we have followed the town’s budget process closely since the Board of Education first began its budget discussions in December 2010. We are disappointed in the Town Council’s recent decision to transfer funds from the Board of Education’s operating budget to a separate town account for Board of Education employee health insurance. As we listened to the Board of Education’s attorney Thomas B. Mooney at their April 28 meeting, we began to question the Town Council’s ethics. We feel that the Council acted unlawfully, unjustly and irresponsibly and hope that the Council will recognize and correct the mistake of transferring the funds.

We gathered from Attorney Mooney’s comments that only the Board of Education has the authority to appropriate funds within its own budget, pursuant to Connecticut General Statute 10-222. As it appears that the Town Council has broken state law, we support the Board of Education’s decision to hire an attorney to protect the school system and the autonomy of the Board. However, the rightful involvement of lawyers is only costing the taxpayers more money in what you have repeatedly referred to as “tough economic times.” After Attorney Mooney’s recommendation to the Board of Education to solve this matter amicably, we are hopeful that the Council will be cooperative and transfer the funds back to the Board of Education's operating budget as opposed to continuing to take action that is inconsistent with state law and costly to taxpayers.

At the Board of Education’s April 12 meeting, the Board unanimously voted to form a Tri-Board committee to investigate the combining of Board of Education and Town employees’ health insurance. The purpose of this committee was to form a bipartisan effort to research the idea in a fair and lawful way. Two days later, the Town Council ignored the good intentions of the Board of Education and the legal opinion of Attorney Mooney and made the rash decision to create and transfer funds to a new account. We are concerned that this decision was politically motivated and was not made in the best interest of the students and taxpayers. Does the Town Council view this budget process as a procedure to decide what is best for the residents of Trumbull or a political game that is being funded with the taxpayers hard earned money? If the latter is the case, we hope the Council will move forward with intentions to correct the mistake and work with the Board of Education to find a solution that will benefit both students and taxpayers.

Throughout our educational careers in Trumbull, our teachers have taught us the importance of good ethics. Therefore, we now question the judgment of the Town Council in this matter. Can the Council honestly tell us that this transfer is in the best interest of our education or is it a perfect example of an unethical action by politicians with alternative agendas? Currently, the Board of Education is being forced to budget without the one million dollars that the Council transferred into the new account. This means that the Board will be forced to remove a total of over four million dollars from their proposed budget. A reduction to the proposed budget of this magnitude will largely impact student achievement. Please prove to the students in our school system as well as the taxpayers that you are acting in good faith; move the transferred funds back to the Board of Education’s operating budget.

Sincerely,

Michael Smith, President
Emma Connolly, Vice President
Maddy Kenler, Secretary