To the editor:
I understand the concerns that many residents, particularly those on fixed incomes, have expressed about the prospect of higher taxes to pay for both municipal and school needs. However, I believe that the issues have been painted in black and white, when in fact they are gray.
Higher property taxes will indeed be a challenge for many residents, but the alternative will likely affect those who can least afford it.
For six years as executive director of School's Out Inc., I was privileged to be part of an organization that provided scholarships to families who were struggling to make it in Hamilton and Wenham. Many of them were single-parent families, led by either a hard-working mother or father who was in need of assistance to pay for necessary child care so that they could work to support their families. Other families with two working parents were barely making it, and could hardly afford an extra expense for special activities, after paying for child care.
Those families will be hurt the most by the increasingly drastic cutbacks that will take effect in the schools if the override does not pass.
Yes, there will be some privately funded scholarships, but my experience with families in need is that they will apply for scholarships for big things, like child care, but they are likely to resist applying for scholarships for after-school sports, activities and enrichment. So, as foreign language study, art, and music become more limited, those families who can afford to will pay for classes, while families on a limited budget will forgo them. As JV sports are eliminated at the high-school level, families will make the difficult decision to have kids go home to empty homes rather than take part in a sport or activity that the family cannot afford.
The risk is that Hamilton and Wenham will become communities where the distance between the haves and have-nots will grow wider.
My challenge to those who choose not to vote for a municipal or school override is this: Not choosing the override at this time will severely limit more and more activities, from the Visiting Nurse to music, art, languages and sports. Class sizes will increase to the point where any hope of individual attention or enrichment will be lost.
Yes, there are serious problems to solve, and we must work together to find creative ways to augment our property tax and to work with the state and federal governments to pay a higher percentage of the cost of special education and other mandated costs. But this is not the time to defeat an override of critical funding to maintain the quality of our communities and our schools. Please, consider the true cost of your vote and think about those who will be most affected by the severe cutbacks that will follow if the municipal and school overrides are rejected.
MARGO WALLACE DRUSCHEL
Hamilton
