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  Meet the Friends of Tolland Schools: People with a Purpose

You may have seen us passing out fliers on the soccer field or you may have received a phone call from us reminding you to vote in a local election or budget referendum. You may have heard us speak at a PTO or Town Council meeting, or you may have received an email update from us. We are the Friends of Tolland Schools, and we would like to take this opportunity to shed some light on our mission and the volunteers behind it.

Our group formed in 2001 when residents, especially parents of school-age children in town, became concerned that the problem of overcrowding in the Tolland public schools was not receiving adequate attention by town officials. Enrollment had been increasing steadily over the years, yet a long-term plan for accommodating this population growth was not forthcoming. Students were being taught in hallways, library space had been converted to classroom space, bathrooms and broom closets had been converted to office space, and some subjects had been relegated to push carts. Portable classrooms had already been installed at the high school and more were needed at the middle school and Parker just to get by. UConn had stopped sending its student teachers to work in our schools because our district had become "unstable" and was not a good teaching model.

Two bi-partisan Space Assessment Committees comprised of local volunteers were charged with identifying the best solution. They both arrived at the same conclusion: Tolland needed a new high school. In spite of this consensus of opinion, there was resistance from town officials. Frustration intensified and the Friends of Tolland Schools was born!

Our group of concerned residents got organized. We felt it was essential to share what we were learning at the town meetings with our neighbors. In order to raise money to pay for fliers about the new high school, we needed to register our group as a political action committee (PAC). (Other PACs in town include the Tolland Taxpayers Association and Conserving Tolland.) When we registered our committee with the state, we chose not to affiliate with any political party. Our goal was to protect the future quality of our kids' education by solving the school space problem, and this had nothing to do with political party affiliation. We wanted to be as inclusive as possible.

Many residents throughout Tolland volunteered to deliver informational fliers and make phone calls so that those who were interested in becoming informed about the school space issue would have access to accurate facts and figures, know when town meetings about the issue were being held, and eventually when and where to vote in the referendum that was necessary to approve funding for the much needed new high school. These volunteers included life-long residents as well as newcomers, those with kids in the schools, and those whose grandchildren were now Tolland students. Regardless of age or political affiliation, all the volunteers agreed that protecting educational quality was paramount.

On June 3, 2003, the vote on the new school was held, and it passed. Voter turnout was much higher than usual for a referendum -- over 50% of registered voters participated. Friends of Tolland Schools volunteers deserve a tremendous amount of credit for this success.

The new Tolland High School, half of which was paid for by the state of Connecticut, opened in September, 2006. It is true that such a major investment in town infrastructure is expensive. It is also true that building a new school was on the drawing board some years ago, when it might have cost less. Overcrowding had to reach a crisis level, and residents had to organize before the new school could move forward. Like it or not, sometimes "going political" is what it takes.

The Friends of Tolland Schools mission was not solely to see the construction of a new high school, however. When we formed, we wanted our purpose to include working toward protecting the long-term quality of Tolland's schools. When the first annual Tolland budget referendum was held in the spring of 2004, we realized that there was a new challenge.

It took four referendums to finally pass a town budget in 2004. By the fourth referendum, the education budget proposed by the superintendent had been cut by $1.4 million! Tolland schools lost existing and proposed teaching positions, funds for materials, supplies and text books, and funds for building maintenance. That was the first year of the new annual budget referendum.

Year two: After three referendums in 2005, voters approved an education budget that cut approximately $640,000 from the superintendent's proposed budget. The cuts included teaching positions in reading, social studies and computer education, and all funding for freshman and JV sports at the high school as well as all after school activities at the middle school.

By sheer luck, the state gave Tolland additional education grant money after our budget was passed -- a windfall that cannot be counted on in subsequent years -- sufficient to reinstate most of the sports and activities that had been cut. This surprise grant money might have gone to the town's general fund and not to education. There was resistance to passing these funds on to our schools, so FTS volunteers got involved. We circulated a petition to encourage the Town Council to give the state education grant money to our schools. Fortunately for Tolland's kids, the petition was successful, and the grant money enabled restoration of the sports and clubs for the year.

The first two years of the town budget referendum set the tone for those that have followed. The pattern of having to fight to minimize cuts to the education budget is now well established.

FTS's current goal is to make it easier for our fellow residents to learn how the annual budget vote will affect our schools and therefore the children of Tolland. We plan to pass along the latest enrollment figures, describe how the school budget is being formulated, and provide details on when/where/how townspeople can participate in shaping the budget. We will of course remind people to V-O-T-E, too!

Some of our volunteers will take turns going to town meetings to see our elected officials in action. Others will network with members of the Town Council and Board of Education to clarify their positions on school issues. Still others will hand-deliver fliers with information on the budget to people in their neighborhoods. Numerous FTS supporters will choose to participate by receiving our emails. FTS is simply people reaching out to their neighbors to say, "Check this out -- I think it's important."

Our wish is for a greater number of Tolland residents to take an active interest in the quality of our school district and to be curious enough to seek accurate information before casting their votes for the budget and other elections that affect our schools. Petitions, fliers, phone calls, town meetings, word of mouth, and this website are the tools FTS uses to urge our fellow residents to support education by taking part in Tolland's democracy. Most of us would much prefer not to be "political" as this not only takes time and effort but also tends to attract suspicion of our motives. Please, take it from us: we are motivated only by the success of our town's children and the far-reaching benefits that this success will bring to our town as a whole.

FTS wants to focus the positive forces in Tolland. We believe most of our fellow residents agree with us that maintaining the quality of our public schools is worth serious effort. As budget season approaches, we will be asking for new volunteers to join our ranks. We will be renewing our offer to send our email newsletter and updates to those who are interested in receiving them. Please look for us!