Consider the
impact of our decision on the lives of townspeople
I have spent
a lot of time talking to Canton residents about the upcoming
override vote in the past few weeks. I have been impressed with
the willingness of many voters who were opposed to the override
last year to step back and take a fresh look at the issue, now
that a year has passed and the consequences to our town of the
failed vote have become evident. Conversations with two voters,
in particular, illuminate, for me, the important issues we all
need to consider as we decide how to vote.
The first
voter has decided that he simply made the wrong decision last
year. He was very concerned that the town had allowed a
structural deficit to develop and he wanted to send a “wake up
call” to elected and appointed officials that spending had to be
more carefully managed. He now believes that his vote was the
wrong means to achieve an appropriate end and that the price the
town has paid for the failed override has been too great. He is
worried that permanent damage to the quality and progress of the
schools has been done, and he cannot support continued reliance
on large fees to fund programs for the school department. His
conclusion is that we all have to pay a little more to help the
town get back on a sound financial footing. He is willing to
make that investment in the town’s future. I’m pretty sure he
will also be investing more time in the future to make his voice
heard by town officials when he has concerns, a win-win outcome
for the town.
The second
voter, who is still mulling over her decision, has been
impressed by Superintendent John D’Auria’s information on the
effect of spending cuts on the variety of courses and
extracurricular activities offered at the middle school and high
school. She recalls that the staff of the high school helped to
keep her son on the right track during some tough times for her
family, and that it was some of the elective courses that have
been lost over the past few years that most engaged his
attention and made him want to be at school every day.
While it is
certainly important that we all carefully analyze the “numbers”
— as I have done — in deciding how to vote, we should make our
decision as my two voting friends are doing: by considering the
impact of our decision on the lives of the people of our town.
***
(Dianne
Gustafson is a former member of the Finance Committee who
supports the override.)
Return
to Columns Page
|
