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Eye-Opening

It was eye-opening to witness the “vote yes” campaign waged by the Guilford Democrats, Guilford High School (GHS) Connections, and the Town of Guilford.

In their May 18 email, the Guilford Democrats said, “The failure to pass the budget in the first round means the loss of a drama teacher at Adams [Middle School], prospective para-professional hires, and cuts to site maintenance funds, textbooks, and transportation. Further cuts would mean severe impacts to our student’s educational experience.”

A May 10 email from GHS Connections said, “A failed vote will result in less funding for our schools and town services. If you value and wish to keep our class sizes small, if you would like to have adequate and qualified staffing that includes school counselors and mental health supports, and if you want our sports programs to continue thriving, please consider voting in favor of this new budget.”

The “Citizens Guide to the Guilford Town Budget” published on the Town website answered the question “Why the Town budget failed at referendum on April 16, saying, “The opening of an APT Foundation Facility in Guilford (which has no direct budget effect), and misinformation posted on signs around town and in the local paper regarding the proposed tax increase.” Fear tactics and misstatements like these obviously had a big impact.

The truth is that since the Board of Selectman meeting on March 18, the Town has known it would receive $953,000 in unanticipated, unallocated, and unbudgeted state grants by June 30. Yet, they didn't include these grants in the revised budget, which was approved on May 21. If they had included these grants, combined with the $650,000 in medical insurance savings, the budget would have been reduced by $1,603,000, no cuts would have been made, and taxpayers would not be paying more unnecessarily.

Dave Holman

Guilford