To The Editor:
Brevity, I promise. While Act 46 is not perfect, Warren should join the accelerated merger of school boards for two simple reasons.
First, it will improve education. With a larger pool of students and flexible budgeting, more special programs can be created for the entire K-12 spectrum including language, arts and drama programs for elementary school children and a STEM program for middle school. In the most extreme example of the advantages of size in education, New York City has an Aviation High School that graduates a class of over 500 students each year, over 90 percent of them with job offers. Local control is a canard. Having a consolidated Mad River Valley district hardly represents a distant, evil bureaucracy and everyone in the Mad River Valley is as committed to quality education as Warren residents are.
Second, it will save Warren residents real money on dreaded real estate taxes – $2,133 over five years on a $300,000 house. There are other savings, including shared responsibility for the recently passed $2 million-plus bond with the entire Mad River Valley, worth $1,500 on the same $300,000 house over five years and a cap on tax increases. There are a number of penalties for not joining, but just the real estate tax saving is significant.
Please vote on June 7.
Ken Friedman
Warren
