TrumbullDEItask force requests budget to fund inclusion initiatives
Jul. 9—The groups' planned essay contest ended earlier this year after its deadline passed without a single entry. He told councilmembers how the group's attempts to get both the Trumbull school district and area private schools to promote the essay failed, and how it didn't create a prize for the contest.
"Our essay contest was a dud," Tropp said at the meeting. "One of the reasons for this, we believe, was our inability to offer a tangible prize. We have no budget."
But even without a budget, the group has been able to offer some programs and work toward its mission.
Tropp highlighted how task force hosted a talk by Eve Galanis, who worked with the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History to produce a historical timeline of the state's LGBTQ community. The group held the event last month alongside the Trumbull Historical Society. Tropp added that the task force has worked with the Trumbull Library to produce a summer reading list and plans to hold a panel on "censorship" this fall.
In his presentation, Tropp also renewed a push by the task force to adopt Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as school holidays. Although the Trumbull school board approved changes in May that would prohibit teachers from assigning work due a day after non-school holidays, Tropp said after the meeting that some Muslim parents still want the holidays officially recognized by the school district to ensure their children feel more accepted at school.
He told council members the topic came up at the task force's third annual forum in January.
"We asked members of the public to share with us when they have felt welcomed in the town of Trumbull and when they have not, and for any suggestions that they might have for our committee," Tropp said. "All of those who spoke that evening advocated for the inclusion on the Trumbull public school calendar of the Muslim Eid Holidays."
After the meeting, First Selectman Vicki Tesoro said the town's conservation commission, which aims to protect and manage the town's natural resources, has a budget but the practice is "not common."
For the request to be considered as a budget proposal, she said, task force members would need to meet with her administration this fall. She suggested the group request funding for specific initiatives in department budget proposals.
Ashley Gaudiano, the town council's chairwoman who proposed the task force in 2020 amid nationwide protests over George Floyd's death, praised its members for forming partnerships in the community.
"Now we need to figure out what the plan is, you know, for six months, a year in advance, so that we can budget accordingly," Gaudiano said.
Tropp has acknowledged to town councilmembers that the task force has faced a high turnover of members and leaders. In less than a year, two chairs of the task force resigned, including Andrea Fonseca, who was appointed to the police commission earlier this year. Three members either finished their terms or resigned last year, he said.
As a result, the seven-member task force has struggled to secure the five members needed to hold monthly meetings, Tropp said. Last month, the group held a virtual meeting in which Tropp announced that not enough members joined the session before canceling the meeting. Later that month, another meeting was cancelled. Tropp expressed concern that the group will face challenges reaching a quorum this month, despite having "some urgent matters to which to attend."
"Though I hope that will not be the case," Tropp said.
Even so, Trumbull Town Council appointed three members to the task force during the last six months, Tropp said. In Thursday's meeting, council members appointed Christopher Powell, a Norwalk Community College sophomore and Trumbull High School graduate, to the group.
Powell replaced Dan Wisneski, who recently died from a "long-term illness," according to Tropp. Councilmembers mourned Wisneski's death in a moment of silence Thursday. Wisneski was an inaugural member who "served the town and the task force with great enthusiasm and heart" despite the illness, Tropp said.
