Public turns out to meeting, raises concerns about cuts By Caitlyn Kelleher
administration and the School Committee have entered a period of waiting and questioning as the School Committee and administrators grapple with the results of the failed override.

As School Committee members prepare to petition voters to support a lower override figure eliminating many non-personnel costs from the budget. But at the same time students' schedules are being revised to compensate for eliminated programs and potential co-curricular fees.

"My entire senior year lays in uncertainty," said Tori Ryan, a student Oakmont, on Wednesday night.

She said at this point it is unclear what classes will be reduced, what athletic, music and extra-curricular will be reduced or expensive. As part of a statement from the Student Council at Oakmont, she asked those charged with making the decision about cuts there is a "commitment to excellent education" in this district.

Ryan, a member of the Student Council, spoke on the group's behalf early in the School Committee's meeting. The meeting had more than 100 members of the public creating a standing room-only crowd in the Overlook Library.

"I'm speaking to this not as the chairman of the Advisory Board but as a parent," started Ken Burstall, of Westminster, during a public comment period.

Burstall's daughter is a student at Oakmont. He said during a conversation on Tuesday night after the election results came in she asked him, "What education am I not going to get," and he said, "I had to answer her, 'Honey I don't know.'"

School Committee Chairman David Christianson said he appreciated the large turnout and reminded the crowd that the board's job was not about politicking,

"We're here for the kids, that is why we sit here as a board," he said.

The crowd remained quiet for most of the meeting. They clapped at the end of some statements that were given and began quiet whispering when the specific cuts began to be announced.

Linda Perla-Mullins, the president of the Ashburnham-Westminster Teachers Association, read a statement from the union at the beginning of the public comment period.

"It is the teacher in the classroom who brings about student understanding," she read. "Counselors, nurses, and librarians also help educate the child and must also tend to the diverse needs of students today. Computers, software, books, workbooks, and manufactured worksheets do not teach. Teachers teach."

Perla-Mullins advocated cutting all other costs before eliminating teachers and other staff.

"These aren't factories. These aren't warehouses," Christianson agreed later in the meeting. "We don't turn out widgets."

Other parents and community members also spoke out.

Richard Noseworthy, a parent of two Oakmont students, advocated getting the newest budget number out to residents as early as possible.

"People have to realize these are real things," he said. "This we need for the future."