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Voters send
loud, clear message with override approval
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
In a
remarkable turnaround from last year, Canton voters
overwhelmingly approved a $4.5 million override of Proposition 2
1/2 in a special election on Thursday — and they did so in the
face of some widely-publicized concerns about the nation’s
economy.
Amid rising
prices and record home foreclosures, voters made a definitive
statement about the type of town they would like to become as
nearly 60 percent of the 6,110 who turned out agreed to pay
higher taxes in exchange for improved schools and other town
services.
The final
margin of victory — 3,638 to 2,470 — represented a 1,500-vote
swing from last January’s override vote, when opponents defeated
a $3.95 million request, 2,889 to 2,557. The voter turnout also
increased this year, from 39 percent a year ago to 43 percent on
Thursday.
“It was
absolutely fantastic,” said School Committee Chairman Reuki
Schutt of the override’s success. “It was a great community
effort. The citizens made a conscious decision to support a
partial restoration.”
Bolstered by
the votes of many young citizens, including eligible Canton High
School seniors, proponents of the override were able to score a
clean sweep of all six precincts, with the narrowest margins
occurring in precincts one (419 to 373) and six (463 to 398).
The most
convincingly pro-override precinct was five, where yes votes
outnumbered no’s, 706 to 393, followed closely by precincts two
(735 to 458) and four (743 to 481). Override supporters also
carried precinct three — where the only two blank votes were
cast — 572 to 367.
As a result
of Thursday’s vote, the schools will receive an additional $1.38
million for its fiscal year 2009 operating budget, thereby
allowing for the return of more than 20 teachers and the
elimination of bus and extracurricular fees, as well as a
drastic reduction in athletic fees (from at least $500 to $100).
Money will also be used to hire support staff and purchase
textbooks, library books and supplies.
According to
Schutt, while the override will not bring about a total
restoration of services that have been lost since 2004, citizens
should expect to see some tangible improvements out of the
schools next year.
“We won’t
have 90 kids in a study hall or 33 kids in an elementary
classroom,” she said. “We were also starting to see an exodus of
Canton kids to private schools, and hopefully that will begin to
change.”
Superintendent John D’Auria said he also expects an improvement
in morale among teachers and parents, an increase in the number
of course offerings for all students, and a decline in the
number of students that will require special services. He added
that the athletic department should reap immediate benefits, as
Athletic Director Danny Erickson will now spend much less time
“fundraising and counting checks” and spend more time “observing
practices and giving coaches feedback.”
“That alone
is going to have an impact on the tenor of the program,”
D’Auria said.
Yet D’Auria
also acknowledged that a successful override brings a new set of
challenges, as he now sets out to achieve his larger goal of
having both equality and excellence in the Canton Public
Schools.
“People
understand finances, and they understand things like class
sizes, books and test scores,” he said. “But the goal now is
much more subtle.”
As for the
override effort itself, D’Auria said the process made for an
excellent community-wide learning experience, while also
enabling him to establish relationships with various groups and
communicate his vision of leadership to them.
He summed it
all up in a statement issued on Friday:
“In addition
to the infusion of much needed resources, the override effort
brought us an invaluable asset. The citizens of Canton modeled
for all the young people in the community how to respond to
setbacks and challenging circumstances.
“Instead of
choosing passivity or defeat, thousands collaborated, invented
new strategies, increased their efforts and aimed for ‘another
way.’ This ‘lesson’ of how to respond to defeat, whether it is
being cut from a team or failing a test or losing an override,
is a lifetime lesson that simply is too valuable to assess.
“The
override efforts and the open, honest, and civil manner in which
the debate was framed among and between the citizens are the
most authentic signs that Canton is a thriving, democratic
community.”
In addition
to the schools, the municipal departments will also receive a
boost from the override, including a $200,000 supplement in FY
2009.
Board of
Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr said he was pleased to see that the
town boards were able to work collaboratively in support of the
override, and was especially pleased to see the town “step up”
despite difficult economic times.
Burr added
that selectmen intend to work to ensure that there will not be
another override in the “foreseeable future,” and they would
also like to hear from seniors who will suffer extreme hardships
as a result of the tax increase.
May 22, 2008
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