Scouts Get Civics Education at BOE Budget Town Hall

Sitting quietly in the back of the room during Wednesday evening's town hall meeting about the proposed Board of Education budget was a group of students, listening and learning about the money used to fund their education.

The group, scouts from Boy Scout Troop 273 at Jefferson School was attending as part of the requirement for the citizenship in the community badge. As part of the requirements, the scouts are required to attend a community meeting, which could either be a Town Council meeting, Board of Education meeting or a town wide meeting on a pressing community issue, such as the school budget forum hosted by Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan. 

Eric Deutchman, the troop's scoutmaster, said the BOE budget meeting was a choice for many of his scouts because of the current town wide debate over education financing. The $89.3 million budget proposal, which will be voted on during Tuesday's school election, includes layoffs and program cuts, along with a four percent tax hike following Gov. Chris Christie's decision to cut Westfield's school aid by $4.22 million. The budget has also received a lot of attention due to the recently ratified teachers' contract which features a 3.9-percent raise.

"Of course everyone in town is curious about the budget," Deutchman said of the troop's decision to attend the budget town hall.

Troop 273 also has the unique distinction of being the only scout troop in Westfield to connected to the school system. The troop is sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization at Jefferson.

During the session, scouts had a chance to learn about the details of the budget and the state aid, along with property taxation. During the question and answer session, they heard concerns and debate over the teachers' contract and raise.

Deutchman said the badge, which is a requirement to be an Eagle Scout, involves a variety of steps including attending a meeting and becoming better informed about civic issues. He said many of the scouts use the information gained through the badge to help guide an Eagle Scout project. He said several of the current scouts have discussed potential Eagle Scout projects to benefit the school system in the wake of the state aid cut. Deutchman indicated the statewide debate over education spending has been a main topic of discussion in the citizenship badge in the last month.

"They learn the obligations and duties of a citizen," he said of the badge.