Anti-edumacation idiots in my town shoot down school spending

[mreilly]

People who don't live in Massachusetts think it's just one big blue happy state, but those of us who have resided here for a while know there are blue towns and red towns. Unfortunately, I live in a red town near the border of New Hampshire, a place which is half enlightened educated yuppie suburbanites and half dumbassed Nascar-watching rednecks. My town ALWAYS goes for the Republican in any election, whether local or national.

There was a town meeting last night because the school committee was requesting more money (about $388K) and a motion was held for public vote to decide this. The school committee has already accepted $850K in reductions elsewhere; it was basically requesting $388K back. Please note the state itself is recommending my town spend $700K more on education but the selectmen have decided on 1.2 million in cuts from the school budget.

As you can imagine, people with kids and people who care about decent schools (knowing a good school district makes for good property values) showed up at the meeting last night to vote for increased school spending. And then you had the stupid yahoos who are so very terrified they might actually have to PAY a few cents more in property taxes showing up to vote against it, because "it's crap" and "what good is three hundred thousand going to do anyway?"

The measure wound up being decided in favor of dumb assholes by a margin of 10 votes. Because those of us with kids had one parent stay home to watch said kids and that meant fewer intelligent people there to vote. Why can't the asshole tax-whining rednecks just head over the border to New Hampshire to join up with their brethren who care about nothing except guns and avoiding taxes?

My wife and I are going to have to look into private schools if this trend continues. We are facing schoolbus fees, a total lack of AP courses, and class sizes are only going to get bigger. Available courses at the high school are far less than even eight years ago, additionally. I was spoiled, growing up in NY State in a town with excellent schools. Taxes were high, but they went for something worthwhile, and my hometown was made up of intelligent professionals who understood the value of education. Because I went to good schools, I had a love of learning instilled in me and to this day I read history, psychology and literature for fun. Yes, I will do whatever I can to share this with my 3 children, but that needs to go hand-in-hand with a school system properly equipped to handle the challenges of this modern age.

Since 2000 I've come to the conclusion that democracy only works if those who participate in it possess the necessary intellect to understand the ramifications and consequences of their vote. The idiots in my town who don't see the value in education might not care about their own ignorance or that of their offspring, but we are not going to let their selfish shortsightedness determine the course of our children's futures.

[Breeze54]

1. Sorry to hear the, my town has had bus fee's for at least 10 yrs now...

The budget was slashed here mercilessly... less library hours, etc.

Police and fire dept got screwed again. :(

[AllieB]

2. Sorry to hear that.

As a Merrimack Valley resident, I feel your pain. My town is more liberal and spends on education, but some of the towns around Lowell/Lawrence/Haverhill really shoot themselves in the feet with regard to funding education. The area is depressed as it is, and not educating children is not exactly forward-thinking.

[Fearless]

3. As am I in the Pioneer Valley