Letters to the Editor - May 7, 2026

Enjoyed profile of Amenia’s Edgewood

I thoroughly enjoyed your article on Amenia’s late Edgewood Restaurant; especially since it brought back memories of another long-gone venue on the road to Sharon.

It was the Brookside and during the Sharon Playhouse’s annual season it served as sort of a green room for the actors, apprentices and audience members after the Playhouse’ curtain fell.

During those years of the nineteen fifties the Playhouse was staffed by actors who were in repertory. Every week in July and August they appeared all sorts of comedies showing great versatility in the roles they portrayed.

In addition, they gladly interacted with the rest of the Company, including the nightly fun at the Brookside with some getting up on the small Brookside to do a song or two.

In 1960 I worked full-time in the Playhouse’s box office and was warmly welcomed as a member of the “Family.”

Oh, and I often dined at the Edgewood!

BillKnowlton

Liverpool, NY

Education is not a line item to trim

As a taxpayer, a community member, and a product of public schools, I write with concern about the proposed zero-budget by the Board of Finance (BOF) for Sharon Center School. Reducing investment in our schools carries long-term economic costs that far outweigh any short-term savings.

Research consistently shows that every dollar invested in early and primary education yields significant returns — in workforce productivity, reduced reliance on public assistance, and lower rates of incarceration. Further, it has been found that students in better-funded schools earn higher wages, are more likely to graduate high school and attend college, and contribute more in taxes over their lifetimes. Cuts to education don’t eliminate costs — they defer them, often with interest.

At the local level, the stakes are equally clear. Businesses considering where to locate or expand look at the quality of public schools as a key indicator of community health and the future workforce. We risk Sharon being less competitive and less attractive to the kind of investment that sustains property values and local employment.

I understand the need to make difficult fiscal decisions. But treating education as a line item to trim, rather than an infrastructure investment to protect, reflects a short-term view.

It was evident at the BOF hearing on April 28, 2026 that many members are more interested in closing Sharon Center School than in building it to be the best school it can. Public schools are for all children – of all educational abilities. This is how a child learns compassion and how to work with others.

I am a senior. I live on a limited income. Yet, I know the importance of having a school in Sharon. This is not the parents vs. others in Sharon. I applaud Tom Bartram and Jessica Fowler, BOFmembers, who listened to all who presented testimony at the public hearing on April 24th, and believed that Sharon Center School should receive the $41,250from tuition payments – not the Town’s General Fund. The answer from some BOF members was – it’s always been done this way. I say, this is a new day – a new and very competent and committed BOE. All of whom want Sharon Center School to be the best it can be for ALL children. No one should want to always do things as they were done in the past. How can we ever move forward? Can the school live with a no budget increase? Possibly – but not necessarily with some of the cuts.Not something that I want to take a chance. Especially given that the tuition should be in the BOE”s budget.

I hope residents will attend the Sharon Town Meeting on May 8th at 6 pm at Town Hall and vote NO on the budget. Let’s tell the Board of Finance to revise the budget to credit the $41,250 in tuition payments to Sharon Center School and not into the Town’s General Fund. It’s a small gesture, but it speaks volumes about our support for our school.

Marlene Woodman

Sharon

Context for Sharon’s flat education budget

The Sharon Board of Finance would like to provide additional context regarding its recent request that the Sharon Board of Education consider a flat, or zero-increase, budget for the coming fiscal year. We appreciate the strong interest this topic has generated and are encouraged by the thoughtful engagement from members of our community.

A key factor in this discussion is the state’s Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR). In general terms, the MBR requires towns to fund education at least at the prior year’s level, regardless of changes in enrollment. Over time, this has created a structural dynamic for Sharon: as our school-aged population declines, the budget does not automatically adjust downward. As a result, even modest increases can have lasting effects on future required funding levels. School leadership, including Board of Education Chairman (and former Sharon Center School Principal) Dr. O’Reilly and Principal Tomkalski, has indicated publicly that a flat budget would continue to support students’ needs for the upcoming school year.

It is also helpful to distinguish between a budget and actual expenditures. In recent years, the Board of Education has spent less than the full amount appropriated. Based on year-to-date figures as of March 31, 2026, this pattern is continuing. While budgets must appropriately plan for uncertainty, these trends suggest that recent appropriations have provided a margin that has not been fully utilized. Notably, the cumulative surplus from the past two years exceeds the adjustment requested by the Board of Finance for the 2026–27 fiscal year.

At approximately $48,000 per pupil, Sharon’s per-student cost is currently the highest in Connecticut. We recognize that several factors contribute to this figure, including the scale of our school and the range of services we provide. In addition, a prior comparative review of certain non-salary expenditures—such as purchased services and supplies—indicated higher spending levels than a peer school, even after accounting for differences in facility size. We have requested updated information to better understand these differences and to help inform future discussions.

Our request for a flat budget reflects an ongoing effort to balance educational needs with long-term financial sustainability thoughtfully. The Board of Finance, as elected volunteers, is responsible for reviewing both Town and Education budgets, considering near-term priorities alongside future obligations, and being mindful of the diverse financial circumstances of Sharon residents. These responsibilities require us to look carefully at both current conditions and longer-term trends.

We also want to recognize the positive progress within the School. Recent assessments indicate improving academic performance among students, and we appreciate the continued efforts of the Principal, teachers, staff, and the Board of Education in supporting student success and serving the broader community.

At the same time, Sharon—like many communities in our region—faces longer-term challenges related to declining enrollment and the ongoing work of sustaining and strengthening academic outcomes. The level of community engagement in this year’s budget conversation is encouraging, and we hope it can serve as a foundation for continued constructive dialogue.

The Board of Finance remains committed to working collaboratively with the Board of Education in the months ahead to address both current and future needs, with the shared goal of supporting students while maintaining long-term fiscal responsibility for the town.

Sharon Board of Finance

Tom Bartram

Jessica Fowler

John Hecht

Carol Flaton

Michele Pastre

Mary Robertson

Maryanne Toppan

Sharon

Opposition to proposed Sharon Budget

I write to express my opposition to the Sharon Board of Finance’s proposed 2026–2027 budget calling for a zero increase for the Sharon Center School.

I have a long and meaningful connection to the School. I attended Sharon Center School for four years in the 1970s and early 1980s, as did my brother. My parents ultimately transferred me—against my wishes—to Indian Mountain School. In hindsight, that decision did not serve me particularly well and only reinforced what I already believed at the time: Sharon Center School was providing a strong and grounded education that compared favorably with more expensive alternatives.

Sharon has approximately 1,250 tax-paying households. The School’s requested increase—approximately $69,000—would barely move the needle when spread across the town.

It is often said that too much money is being spent on the School. The Town’s financial records show otherwise. For nearly a decade, the School’s budget has stayed in a narrow range of roughly $4.1 to $4.5 million. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the Sharon Center School budget was $4,165,513. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, it was $4,119,978. Adjusted for inflation, that same approximately $4.2 million in 2016 dollars would be roughly $5.8 million today. In real terms, the School is operating with substantially less funding than it did ten years ago, making the claim that too much is being spent difficult to sustain.Over the same period, the Town’s tax base has grown significantly, with total taxable property now exceeding $1 billion. In other words, while the School’s budget has remained flat, the Town’s ability to fund it has increased.The impact is visible. Sharon does not have a dedicated foreign language teacher and offers only limited after-school programming—hardly signs of excess.

The comparison to neighboring towns points in the same direction. Salisbury, which shares the same Region One district, supports its elementary school at roughly $6.9 million annually—substantially higher than Sharon’s approximately $4.1 million. While Salisbury does benefit from a larger tax base, it nevertheless commits a greater share of its resources to its elementary school.

Much has been made of the rising “cost per pupil,” but that figure is a misleading shorthand. When enrollment declines, fixed costs—teachers, facilities, transportation—do not disappear, and the School must still serve every student. For many families, private school tuition is simply not affordable, and relocating to another town is not a realistic option. Even for families with the means, private schools routinely turn away qualified applicants, including those able to pay. Our public school also has a responsibility to welcome and support students with special needs—something that requires resources and continuity of funding.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Board is taking a philosophical stand rather than responding to a fiscal constraint. If that is the case, it is the wrong place to do it. Our elementary school should not be the vehicle for making a broader point about spending.

At the same time, the proposed budget continues to allocate significant public funds to certain favored institutions, including the Hotchkiss Library (approximately $130,000) and the Sharon Historical Society (approximately $15,000). These are all worthwhile organizations, but they are also able to raise funds privately. My wife and I have been long-standing private donors to these organizations, and we value their work. The School, however, relies almost entirely on public funding to meet its basic operating needs.

It is also worth noting that the School receives approximately $40,000 annually in tuition from non-resident students. If that amount were directed back to the School, it would cover a substantial portion of the requested increase. By contrast, private institutions such as Indian Mountain School do not contribute their tuition revenue to the Town.

This is not simply about dollars and cents. Sharon is, by any reasonable measure, a very affluent community, with many private amenities—such as a very expensive country club—supported entirely by those who choose to use them, not by the Town. In that context, it is difficult to argue that a modest investment in the one institution that must serve all children is out of reach.

I encourage the residents of Sharon to vote down the proposed 2026–2027 budget at the Sharon Town Hall at 6:00 pm on Friday, May 8, 2026 (attendance is required to vote).

Michael Lynch

Sharon

Confronting evil – counterpoint

The Thursday April 23rd edition of The Lakeville Journal included a letter to the editor titled Confronting Evil and justifying our attack on Iran.You can’t argue with the terror it has spread throughout the Middle East and that it has to stop. I take issue with the justification that it was too close to “sprinting towards a bomb.”This is because no part of the knowledge to build an atomic bomb from rocks you mine from the earth that is a secret.It isn’t even necessary to test your bomb design once you have enough U235 – it’s that reliably well understood.So, if we start with a “no bomb” red line in our strategic positioning, we will never succeed unless we kill everyone. Leaders of our government and others would lead us to believe that making an atomic bomb is some kind of mystery and if we just take out a few leaders and destroy some equipment, the job is done.That just isn’t true.

Let’s please ask our leaders to focus instead on what we can control through whatever means we have but excusing our conduct or planning for a “no bomb, no enrichment” outcome is a fool’s errand.

Theodore Rudd O’Neill

Town

Mr. O’Neill was involved in the development of wavefront sensors (a critical technology) for the Star Wars Weapons program and was part of a due diligence team in 1986 that was invited to inspect and bid on the purchase of the U.S. only centrifugal uranium enrichment facility inPiketon, OH.

Secretariat wins …

I enjoyed reading Debra Aleksinas’ account of meeting the amazing Secretariat. Watching him win the Triple Crown was one of the two most impressive sportingevents I have seen.

The second was seeing Bjorn Borg, down two sets and a point or two away from losing to John McEnroe, battle back to win. It took hours, and the focus and determination he showed in addressing one point at a time, and not giving in to defeatism, was one of the greatest displays of will and discipline I have ever seen.

A friend who speaks Arabic fluently recently told me of a tribute to, probably, a long ago superhorse: “The mount whose pace/Made the world seem a smaller place.” I will never forget the stunned silence in the stands as the crowd witnessed Secretariat, half the track ahead, win the Belmont.

Pam Osborne

Salisbury