We believe participatory budgeting should be deployed district-wide in New Haven Public Schools, putting decision-making power in the hands of the wider community. Mayor Justin Elicker himself championed participatory budgeting in 2013, stating that PB enables residents to be ​“living what’s in budget so they are the ones prioritizing how the city uses the money.” Mayor Elicker’s transition team in 2019 – 2020 released a list of recommendations and proposals that included introducing participatory budgeting. Last month, the town of Hamden chose to empower parents and students to decide how over $169,000 should be spent in Hamden Public Schools through participatory budgeting. Participatory budgeting is a must for New Haven public schools. Leslie Blatteau is President of the New Haven Federation of Teachers and a New Haven Public Schools parent.