The following posting from our fearless dictator leader should give you clue when it comes to how this mayor feels about the opinions of the public.
Classy, real classy...
Let me make this clear, the mayor and members of the city council have NO SAY over the funding of the Head Start program, that responsibility lies in the hands of the Board of Education (BOE), a separate independent elected body.
[City] Council members stressed that while they were happy to see so many residents come to the meeting on Monday, they have little control over how the education board spends its money.
Even if they City Council gives an additional 195,000 dollars to make up for the decrease in funding of Head Start as proposed by the BOE, there is no guarentee that the BOE will use the additional funding for Head Start...in fact, given the BOE's history, I can guarantee you that any additional funds provide to them from the council would NOT go towards fully funding the program.
For example...
Council minority leader Tom Saadi noted after the meeting that as recently as eight years ago, the council provided the school system with an additional $500,000 after school advocates voiced concerns that they couldn't buy new textbooks.
The money, Saadi said, was never actually used for textbooks and funded other programs.
"Even if we decided to give the Board of Education another $195,000 there is no guarantee they will use it for Head Start," Saadi said.
Also, you need not look further to the decision by the City Council last year to directly provide funds for Freshmen sports (something I strongly supported) as opposed to giving additional funds to the BOE to reinstate the program .
Sept 8 2011:
The Danbury City Council agreed to give a $57,000 sum left over from the Danbury Board of Education's budget from 2010-2011, to a parent's group to make sure the high school would have freshmen sports.
[...]
When Danbury Mayor asked school administrators to consider using that surplus to pay for freshmen sports, the Board of Education divided on the issue. Roughly half supporting freshmen sports, and the rest suggesting numerous other uses for the money.
To avoid the education board entirely, Boughton said he could give the money to Save Our Sports, which can only raise money for one purpose, to pay for freshmen sports.
To make a long story short, Boughton knows that he has just about ZERO control over the funding of headstart given that the control of the funding is under the BOE and NOT the City Council...and the newly elected Republicans on the BOE have made it crystal clear that they want to fully defund Head Start within three years.
Some board members have proposed cutting back the funding during the next three years to fully phase out the school system's support for the program.
I'll have more on the arrogant one who doesn't "have to listen" to the opinions of the public when it comes to the budget later.
...smh.
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
