Sherry Takahashi is a Weston resident. She spent 22 years as a Bridgeport teacher, first in special education and then as a district-wide literacy coach.
The other day, a friend sent her an “06880” story on our town’s proposed 2025-26 Board of Education budget. Sherry writes:
Did you know that Bridgeport’s Board of Education began the year with a $36 million deficit?
They had to cut 40 positions — reading and math coordinators included. They are also missing teachers for 28 classroom positions, and filling them with temps.
Sherry Takahashi
Also, the superintendent said that any special needs student who had been out- placed would be brought back into the district. That is every teacher’s favorite cost-saving strategy: having a severely disabled child placed into an already crowded classroom.
I went to help a friend set up her classroom in a local suburban town. She is a newly hired 4th grade teacher. I was taken aback by all of the new materials that arrived, clean and shrink-wrapped, that we unpacked.
She has 17 students,compared to the 29 that is Bridgeport’s max.
The disparity was eye-opening. I remember as a teacher scouring basements of old school buildings for displaced materials, and writing multiple grants for
essential items like pocket charts, whiteboards and manipulatives.
Every teacher in Bridgeport looks forward to the annual Pequot Library sale, where they were entitled to a $100 voucher to purchase used books for their classroom.
My friends who are still teaching and I are on a thread, so I get up-to-date information on life in urban education.
Our bond outlasts our time together, teaching under tough circumstances but
confident we had each other’s backs.
One time I forgot to bring a student to a district spelling bee. My colleague seamlessly covered for me. She told the parent her child wasn’t dressed
appropriately, and that was the end of it.
If it had happened in another setting, it probably would have gone viral.
Thinking back, I believe our strongest resource in Bridgeport was each other.
Westport teachers have every material resource. The community expects a blue ribbon education, and Westport’s Board of Education delivers.
As a result real estate values stay high, property taxes respond accordingly, the schools are fully funded and everyone is happy.
Bridgeport relies heavily on state and federal subsidies. Those have steadily eroded over the years.
I can’t really compare the systems dollar for dollar. I’m glad my kids had the benefit of suburban education, so the money the town sinks into the budget is worth it.
For equity’s sake I wish there were county budgets rather than town budgets. I don’t find de facto segregation that democratic.
Sometimes I run into former students working in service industry jobs, which is about the best they can expect given their level of education.
When Governor Lamont tried to suggest that smaller towns combine to save on administrative costs, the towns vehemently resisted because everyone is happy with the status quo.
So the class system is maintained. And now Elon Musk sits next to our next
president.
(Hat tip: Mark Yurkiw)
