After a lengthy battle to balance the state budget for 2018, cities and towns across Connecticut are bracing for more cuts. Leaders in Ansonia and Derby say the state’s finances have forced them to consider consolidation of their small school districts.
“This is the way to go. We are a small community, we are a small state,” Mayor David Cassetti, (R) Ansonia said.
Cassetti said he’s pitched the idea for years but couldn’t find a partner, until now. His counterpart in Derby, newly-elected mayor Rich Dziekan, said next month his city’s aldermen will vote on whether to study consolidation with Ansonia and other schools in the Valley.
“We need to do studies like these to see if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel where we can save some money for our residents,” said Mayor Rich Dziekan, (R) Derby.
He said the study will look at the impact of different degrees of regionalization, from shared services, to combining athletics, or a complete consolidation of school buildings. Both leaders said cost increases and state cuts prompted the move.
“We’re nervous and we don’t want to raise taxes but that might be on the horizon,” said Dziekan.
“Every year it’s more and more money and it’s not sustainable,” Cassetti added.
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Dziekan said they’d also like to consider consolidating with other districts in the region, like Seymour and Shelton.
“I don’t think that’s a great idea because you’re not able to concentrate on individual students and help them out with their education versus grouping them in a big class,” said Channel Yadao, whose 11-year-old daughter attends class in the Seymour school district.
“If you live in Ansonia and you have to now go to school in Derby it might be an issue for getting there in the morning,” pointed out Oxford resident Dhaana Demjanovich, a Seymour graduate.
One hurtle in the past has been the separate unions that represent the teachers in the respective towns.
“I think we’ve, got to consolidate the unions, I’ve been talking about that for many years,” said Cassetti.
Alderman Joseph Jaumann, who represents Ansonia’s Fifth Ward, first proposed the idea. He knows there will be pushback from some parents and roadblocks to navigate.
“Trying to create something new when people are used to doing things in old ways, people don’t like change so much,” said Jaumann.
“A lot of times you hear people say we’re going to lose our identity, our individuality, but those days are over I think it’s more about educating our kids, giving them a better opportunity to move on into the world and to save the taxpayers money,” added Dziekan.
If both cities agree to study the idea, ultimately the decision will still be left up to voters through a referendum after the study is completed in 2020.
