Former student speaks in favor of override saying schools are everyone's responsibility

To the Editor:

I would like to urge the residents of Ashburnham and Westminster to vote "yes" on the School Override when you go to the polls on August 14. There has been a large amount of discussion about the school budget this summer, both in the papers and on the internet, but I feel it is important not to lose sight of the true issues at hand. The failure of this override would put the school district in a dangerous predicament and once again begin a tumble down the slippery slope of budget cuts. We have been down this path before, I myself experienced multiple rounds of budget cuts during my final years in the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District, and I can tell you first hand the struggles we faced and the huge difference adequate funding made in my senior year of high school.

Students face huge amounts of pressure during their final years of high school. Many of the decisions they make could have enormous effects on their lives for many years to come. It is not only co-curriculars and sports at risk; but also academic courses. The courses cut to meet budget constraints could be the courses some students need for college and therefore we are putting their futures at risk. It scares me to think that we could be faced with fines and other reprimanding for non-compliance with Individual Education Plans due cuts in the Special Education budget, especially because it means more cuts would have to be made to pay such fines.

In each person's life there are certain things they only get to do once, and going through school is one of them. By denying our schools the adequate funding they need, we are robbing our children of a once in a lifetime event. I stress the word "our" because these are "our" schools and the children of "our" community and we are mandated by law, and by tradition, to educate the children in our community. The funding was there for you when you went through school; it is now our turn to return the favor and support the education of this generation as generations before supported our education.

Josh Schonborg

Westminster