Speaking of Voting…
March 12th, 2009Talk about “on the rise.”
Tuesdays vote was a win for education in every way. The budget passed, which was a marvelous thing to see in a district used to voting for the default. In a vacuum, I would worry the towns had once again merely voted by their wallets, choosing the smaller of the two numbers. In context, it’s a massive sweep, a huge sign of confidence and a decision to reach forward into the future, putting aside the arguments of the past.
Every warrant article passed. More importantly, it passed in every town,¹ and it’s the continuation of the ball rolling in the right direction. It’s not easy to stop a downward spiral, it’s less easier to spin it around and get it going as it should, and that appears to be the case. The school board, the administration in the SAU, the administrators in the buildings, and the hundreds of staff and faculty members have all struggled to make this work.
So now there’s a third group that needs to show some changes: The kids.
There is no doubt that our kids use “It’s Monadnock” as an excuse to not do well. It’s this problem that Brian Pickering and so many others have targeted this year, and have done so well. There’s also no doubt that every year, the results of the budget vote have been another mark, another sign that school doesn’t matter for the kids.
That doesn’t exist any more. That excuse is gone.
Much is expected from those to whom much has been given. Although it can’t be used as a club, there’s no doubt that the students can and should be looked at and more demanded from them. They’re supposed to be great—and we can worth with them to achieve that.
1 Barring Richmond, which did not approve the article to approve the district’s contribution to the Unit 38 budget. Even that was a narrow loss, 128-113. A few more people coming out would very well have made the difference. ↺
