Education is a key issue for many in this election. In New London, voters had the chance to decide whether the city should bond $168 million towards building new facilities and creating an all-magnet school district.
It was a question that seemed to drive brisk turnout at many city polling places. Supporters, including the mayor, Daryl Justin Finizio, say it’s a key opportunity to invest in the city’s kids. Voting at New London High School, Jacqueline Little agreed. “Education is key for our children today," she said, "and the more you cut back, the less they achieve. I think give them all they got coming to them and then some.”
But opponents say the plan hasn’t been given a proper public hearing, and will drive the city too deeply into debt. Dan Kaiser was one of those voting no. “They throw so much money into these schools," he said, "and you could redo the walls in solid gold and have Albert Einstein teaching every class, but that’s not what makes a school better. The more and more you see money thrown into schools, a lot of times you just see it get wasted.”
Some polling places saw lines out of the door in the early part of the day — something poll workers said was unexpected in a non-presidential election.
