Co-op budget needs your support

Friday, March 12, 2010

To the Editor:

The entire school year of any school is focused on providing the best education for the least amount of money. Our Hollis/Brookline Cooperative District is no exception.

I am a taxpayer who has attended most of the meetings, Cooperative School Board and Cooperative Budget Committee, and have paid attention to this process. I value education and feel our children are our most important resource. The best education we can provide to them offers options and opportunities for their future.

At the public hearing on Feb. 15, the Budget Committee voted to not support the teacher and support staff contracts and also to slash $250,000 from a School Board-supported budget that already was very lean and crafted to meet Budget Committee guidance.

The Budget Committee publicly and financially aligned themselves behind a vocal resident who readily admits that “he doesn’t care about the kids” and that “they mean nothing to me.”

Do we think this budget reduction then is in support of our children’s education and our school administrators? I think not. I think our Budget Committee is showing that its true interest is in its own pocketbooks and not the students or their very own property values.

I also find it interesting that prior to this hearing, an official vote taken at the Feb. 8 Budget Committee, where all committee members were present and accounted for, yielded a vote of 5-2-1 in support of the School Board’s budget number.

When voting this March 17, at the annual Cooperative District Meeting, each one of us needs to consider who we trust and respect to run our schools where our children receive the foundation of their lives.

I, for one, will not trust the Budget Committee in its rash actions against administration and the School Board. I choose to trust the professionals who understand education, know how to run their schools and receive accolades on their success with students’ test scores against other districts in our state.

Please vote in support of our School Board, our educators and our support staff. Being irresponsible and emotionally charged, as this Budget Committee has shown itself to be, while making financial decisions in economic times like these is dangerous.

I am not willing to risk my children’s future or my property values for this. Are you?

MARIE DEGULIS

Brookline