Opinion

Letter: Five-school model a temporary solution


Published: May 31, 2008

To the editor:

After looking at all the plans presented, and considering what is possible, and what is probable, I have concluded that the only way to avoid calamity in our school system over the next few years is to support the override on June 3.

I appreciate the mayor coming to the table with more funds, but even his offer of several hundred thousand dollars to keep the pre-K through grade five elementary model in five schools is not ultimately sustainable past next year.

It is my opinion that if we close the McKeown School for the five-school model using every available revenue stream, we still need several hundred thousand dollars in other cuts ($250,000 to $400,000 anyway). We will be in a situation next year where the budget shortfall will still be close to $1 million (if not more), we will not have realized the savings of the 4-and-1 Early Childhood Center model, and we will have used up any potential revenue streams from recycling. We will again be looking at slashing programs, or implementing more consolidation.

If it is not the will of the School Committee to implement the 4-and-1 plan recommended by the superintendent, the only viable option for the children of Beverly in general, and the children of the McKeown school in particular, in order not to have their elementary school careers disrupted numerous times, is to vote yes on the override question on Tuesday, June 3.

There are many unknowns in any budget cycle, and with important issues such as a self-imposed tax increase, people look for guarantees, especially moving beyond next year as to where specific revenues from this ballot question will go.

I know that all elected officials who have been asked have stated that if this override passes these funds will be made available for several years anyway. Such promises can seem fleeting, however. The one guarantee I can give is that if this override passes, the quality of education over the next several years will be better than if it does not. If the override fails, the quality of education will be diminished, that I guarantee.

This is not an easy decision. As I have stated publicly before, there are many who believe they cannot afford even this modest increase and who will vote no on this question. They should not be chastised for this difficult decision.

However, there are also those who feel that the investment in education is a most important endeavor, who will vote yes, and they should not be chastised either. We cannot look at paying taxes for education as an obligation that diminishes after our own children have utilized public schools. Public education is an obligation due by all in our current citizens to this community's young people, and this obligation is ongoing.

At the end of the day, if we look at education as only a cost, we have already lost the battle. Public education is about an investment. It is about an investment in the future of this community and this society. I asked before that all please vote their conscience, I repeat that request, and thank you for taking a minute to share my thinking on the issue.

JIM LATTER, Member

Beverly School Committee

Beverly