PUTNEY — Now that the legislative session has come to a close, and for the moment our Windham Southeast Supervisory Union district has not been able to move to the quick track for implementation of Act 46, my unspoken deep reservations about this act need to be expressed.
At Town Meeting, I was impressed by the sincere hard work of the Putney School Board under Alice Laughlin's leadership to understand the act and find a good response for the town.
Board members explained how we might get some sorely needed tax relief if we buckled up hard and worked to find a way forward with the other towns in our district. We now know that option is closed.
I would like us all to step back now. I am not in the least convinced that this particular plan is the way for our district to go forward at all.
Our Town Meeting was lively and interesting and, now that I no longer have children at Putney Central School, it gives me a fresh, up-front picture of how the school is doing. We see lively art on the walls and bikes hanging in the gym for exercise during the lunch break, and we had direct experience of the farm-to-school lunch program.
Our town values were on display. Without the town school board, we will be denied this experience. We won't hear the conversation with parents and the school board, and we will lose more connection to our children and the school.
I imagine others in other towns feel the same. They are proud of their schools and their particular reflection of each town's care for its children.
Consolidation does not necessarily mean savings. It does mean centralization of decision-making that might not in the least be sensitive to local needs or perspectives.
I would charge that the House and Senate take another look at Act 46 with the idea of preserving local participation and control, with the understanding that our children are not commodities.
We do need as a state to guarantee that all children have fair access to excellent education. But this is not merely a matter of putting administration in fewer hands. It is a matter of ensuring well-trained, well-paid educators. It is a matter of equal access to high-quality infrastructure, including arts, a library, and physical education facilities for all our children.
Do not take away town-level connection and voice.