Resident takes a moment to speak out

To the Editor:

When you have a passion for something in life the hardest thing to watch is its quality slowly dissipates. This is the reason I have found it so troubling to observe our previously very well respected school system in Ashburnham and Westminster gradually sink into oblivion during the nearly year long contract issues. It has been especially so during the last few months as most teachers have shown total disregard for leaders in our communities as well as every private citizen. Mr. Cornacchioli's rebuttal to "our," not his, school committee in the February 8th issue of The Community Journal is one more example of his arrogance. Half of his entire rebuttal was little more than an attempt to satisfy his own ego by patting himself on the back for his so-called achievements during his "long" two year tenure in our school system over forty years ago. In his rebuttal he didn't even have the common courtesy to correctly spell the surname of our first athletic director and football coach, Art Hurd, who he worked under. Our outstanding athletic field is named the: Arthur I. Hurd Athletic Field in honor of Art Hurd, not Hurst.

It bothers me that every community member has had to watch these uncalled for teacher union demonstrations which have been directed and choreographed by and under the tutelage of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, its representative and its rulebook. There will be no winners when this is over and the biggest losers of all will be the kids. We must all keep our fingers crossed that no irreparable damage has been done to our school system and our communities.

Many of the teachers, especially some of the leaders of the union, have served our school system well for decades. A number of them are nearing retirement age. Unfortunately their legacy could very well be one of leading this unprofessional display rather than the one they should have left, that of being good teachers.

I know most of the combatants personally. They are fine people and I feel sorry for them, as well as for any teacher who has been swept into this mania not knowing the consequences that are to follow. I also feel compassion for our truly committed school committee members who have volunteered hundreds of hours of their time only to be insulted by those who derive their living from them. Our superintendent of schools, arguably the best and most committed ever in our district, has also felt the wrath of the union. It is a very fine line that the school committee and superintendent must follow to try to balance the needs of both the communities and its schools. As a result of this whole charade we undoubtedly will lose some really fine school committee members who will not be easily replaced. There is also the possibility that we could lose some outstanding administrators who again it would be extremely difficult to replace. During their tenures these individuals have shown us qualities of which we should all be proud.

In conclusion it has been my experience that many times when situations such as this occur that when all is said and done those who have been brought into the fray from the outside have no true allegiances to the local district. As they exit out the front driveway and head to their homes they leave nothing behind other than a trail of broken China which has to be repaired by the district they were supposed to have served.

Dick Mackey

Westminster