Letter: This election day, don't be 'one of the two'
To the editor:
My message to registered voters in Barrington is this: don’t be one of the two. Let me explain …
Three years ago, my family and I were living in Cornwall, NY, a small town on the Hudson River just north of West Point. We had moved there for the same reasons that brought us to Barrington last year, drawn by the strong sense of community and the excellent reputation of Cornwall’s schools.
Every year, Cornwall voters passed the school budget by a comfortable margin. Our schools were a source of great community pride, and residents consistently supported them. But, 2013 was a different story. Beginning 3 years prior in 2010, New York had instituted the “Gap Elimination Adjustment” that significantly decreased state funding for education in order to close a $10 billion state budget deficit. At the same time, the state tied our hands by capping property tax increases that our towns could try to use to make up the difference. For several years, our schools had slashed their budgets, reducing arts and athletics programs and eliminating teaching positions. 2013 was the breaking point, and the board of education put forth to voters a budget that could maintain all programs but was slightly over the tax cap. Because it was over the cap, this budget required a supermajority to pass; at least 60 percent of voters needed to vote yes.
The school committee knew it was a risky move, but there was consensus that after all the reductions over the past several years, they were obligated to try to stop the bleeding and see if the community would support paying more to maintain everything that was in the budget the prior year.
Our town looked like Barrington does now. There were lawn signs, letters to the editor, and Facebook campaigns to support education. An advocacy group encouraged resident voters to get to the polls and support the schools. Election day came, along with busy schedules and terrible weather. A few too many people assumed that the budget would pass, and stayed home because they were busy with work, carpools, dinner, and homework. The budget did not pass that day. It was two votes short of the 60 percent needed to pass. Two votes short!
The next day, as the board of education and school administration started to get ready for Plan B (which meant more teacher reductions), too many residents walked around town with their heads held low, knowing that they really could have made a difference if they had made it to the polls. It was a civics lesson for all of us; we hear so often that every vote counts, but we can be lulled into complacency when one vote feels like a drop in a very large bucket. With 2016 being a presidential election year, I know that voter turnout should be high. But I also know that people are busy.
Please, to each registered voter in Barrington: Don’t be one of the two. Our schools — and our reputation for educational excellence — are a cornerstone of our community. Let’s all get to the polls on Nov. 8 and vote yes for Barrington Middle School. Our schools, our property values, our community, our kids are counting on us!
Respectfully,
Julie Sullivan Owens
Barrington
