Letter To The Editor: Darien's ARPA Funds

Darien CT

14 March, 2022

4:04 PM

Description

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted by Krista Carnes on March 14, 2022: To the Editor, In the coming years, there will be many occasions to look back and evaluate community decisions made during and after the pandemic. For many, values and priorities shifted, or came sharply into focus. The experience brought out the best in many of us - the care we showed to our neighbors, our friends, and our families. It also highlighted those professionals who worked to keep us moving forward - some days only by inches - as we navigated wildly unknown territory: our healthcare professionals, first responders, frontline workers, maintenance crews, and our teachers. Many Town and School district employees went above and beyond in their service of our town and our children. These educators shouldered a complete upheaval of their professional environments and expectations while keeping up the demands of local and state requirements and reporting — all the while being at home, managing their own families and their health. They were tasked to keep students moving forward given previously unimaginable circumstances - and as a group, they answered that call and more. In recognition of these intense efforts, some area Towns have chosen to recognize the extreme circumstances teachers faced and compensate them. New Canaan is one very local example. Their Board of Finance voted unanimously in October of 2021 to support allocating monies from the general fund, and later ARPA funds on Dec 15, 2021, to provide these "thank you" bonuses to district teachers, district staff, and town employees. Teachers received up to $1,000, at a maximum outlay of $413,000. Darien has received $6.3M+ American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, however, I have heard no plan to allocate any funds towards teachers who worked tirelessly without overtime compensation. When the idea of bonuses for town employees and teachers was briefly raised at the last Selectmen's meeting (2/28), Selectman and Chairman of the ARPA committee Jon Zagrodsky quickly shot it down. He stated that the committee decided against issuing relatively modest bonuses to first responders and frontline workers because doing so would be "too controversial" or "too complicated" - then deflected inquiry on teacher bonuses to the Board of Education. The Board of Education did receive roughly $900,000 in funds during the pandemic to keep schools running. Without these funds, schools would have been sorely under budget thus negatively affecting the delivery of education. That is a far cry from $6.3M+ the Town received, which have now been suggested to go to neglected pre-pandemic projects: playground overhauls, an upgrade to the town government website and various town signage, and the promising if vaguely defined, Mental Health Support — many of which are projected to be used in fiscal year '24 or '25 or at an "undefined" time. These projects may need to get done, but as a town, can we not find a way to do both? Or are we simply not willing. Can we solve pre-pandemic problems and also acknowledge those who helped get us through a pandemic? The APRA Committee may have met in public to discuss these issues, but given that we're talking about millions of dollars of investments, there should be significant public input before finalizing decisions. Do you feel as if your voices have been heard? Did you even realize the ARPA determinations were underway? Other towns held public forums or issued townwide surveys to gather ideas and suggest projects based on their experiences of the last two years. Darien did not, save small items in a local newspaper and publicly posted meeting agendas. It has been concerning to hear these funds called "Free Money" multiple times by our public officials, including the Chairman of the ARPA Committee and the Chairman of the Board of Finance. This is not free money. This is Taxpayer money. This is money provided by the federal government in response to a global pandemic that drastically impacted our health, our economy, and our families. All of us have paid the cost and more. We should be heard. An active and engaged community conversation is not unreasonable. Given the parameters for use of APRA funds, the suggested allocations do NOT need to be approved immediately. At tomorrow night's public hearing, The Board of Finance can approve certain line items for important capital improvement projects (flood mitigation, infrastructure upgrades) - but wait on finalizing many items in the "Everything Else" bucket. They can also "reject" specific items which send the funds back to the ARPA committee to make new recommendations through public meetings. These funds do not need to be "obligated" until the end of the 2024 calendar year. What's the harm in taking a little more time to gather input on ideas like paying teachers recognition bonuses? Our educators and other frontline employees made enormous sacrifices during COVID, and are now facing the economic fallout of rising inflation. When we look back on this time, will we be able to say Darien recognized those who made Darien and its students their priority during COVID? Will we reinforce their value beyond mere words? I hope we find a way to look back and answer the call with a resounding YES! Krista Carnes, Darien, Member of the DTC