The town has published all 29 pages of Advisory Ballot/Exit Poll comments at
www.hebronct.com/pdfs/finance_section/Exit_Poll_2010.pdf
What it reveals to me is exactly what the raw data showed. More people who voted that they were opposed to ADK and were in favor of bifurcation of the budget exceeded the number of people who voted Yes on the Town Government budget. Specifically, 639 residents voted Yes on the combined General Government and Hebron Board of Education budget. That means that only
48.5% of the total voters voted Yes on the town budget.
Yet 975 of the total 1,317 voters who filled out the Advisory Ballot/Exit Poll (out of a total of 1,766 voters) want to vote separately on the General Government budget and the HBOE budget. That's
74% of all people filling out the Advisory Ballot.
Likewise, 950 of the 1,317 voters who filled out the Advisory Ballot/Exit Poll do NOT want an expansion of the All Day Kindergarten program this year. That's
72% of all people filling out the Advisory Ballot.
Some have called us a community divided. I see us as a community united on these two important issues: bifurcation of the town budget so that residents can vote separately on the General Government and HBOE budgets; and non-expansion of the All Day Kindergarten program. With bifurcation, each major fiduciary element in our town budget will be held accountable for their budgeting efforts to keep Hebron an affordable place to live.
What is even more interesting (and confirms what I've been told) is that some people voted Yes on the town budget out of fear on more cuts to programs that benefit all, and that the HBOE will never give up their rigid stance on full ADK implementation this year.
It will be interesting to see what happens at tomorrow night's Hebron Board of Education meeting, 7:30 p.m., Gilead Hill School, Activity Room.
