Working as an engineer with a wife who works part time and devotes her energy to raising our children, we reaffirmed our choice of Harvard by moving within town four years ago. Our children benefit from their teachers’ caring, devoted efforts; we see the difference special education makes and we rejoice in our decision.
With basically one income, we can pay the mortgage, the taxes, and our bills. That’s about it. We dig deep to pay for buses and fees. We think hard about supporting overrides.
Despite the divisive tone of local politics and the sometimes heated rhetoric, we are all in this world, this life, and this town together and have far more in common than these differences suggest. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile our own needs and desires with those of the community at large, but striking a reasonable balance is what keeps us together as a community.
We have important issues of trust and balance at stake this week.
FinCom does yeoman’s duty wading through the vast budget morass to make reasonable and considered recommendations to the town. The idea that we cast aside faithful committee members and open FinCom to elected positions is a prescription for more winner-take-all politics and gridlock in town government.
Special education has come under attack. We’ve seen first hand the difference the program can make. Common sense suggests that even if problems exist, they are likely limited in scope — there simply isn’t enough money left to feed large-scale corruption. On the other hand, special education is one of the fastest growing areas of expense, and townspeople need to feel assured that the funds are being used wisely. In the interest of building trust and maintaining broad community support for special education, the School Committee should keep any audit at arm’s length and focus on providing the policy guidance to program administration that assures the most efficient use of taxpayer funds to deliver these vital services.
We need to come together at Town Meeting this Saturday, hash out our differences, and, honoring our larger shared values, remain a vital community.
Chris and Tina Ashley
Woodside Road
