This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/04/2016 08:00 AMThe Board of Education in Clinton exists for one purpose: to ensure a quality education for Clinton’s children within the community’s means. The board’s awareness of the hardships facing our community is reflected in the significant cuts made during the budget process, a process that resulted in a fiscally responsible budget that maintains the quality of the educational experience here in Clinton.
While our kids will almost certainly suffer the greatest consequence if the budget fails, our community also puts itself at risk. If the budget fails, Clinton risks losing its reputation. We risk losing our reputation as a community that values education; we risk losing our reputation as a community that cares about its children; we risk losing our reputation as a community that welcomes families. Ultimately, we risk losing the very foundation of what makes our town strong. How can we ever prosper if we aren’t wise enough to plant the seeds today that will bear the fruit that sustains us tomorrow?
I know times are hard, and the board’s efforts to cut spending show that it does, too. However, Clinton risks facing much, much harder times if we continue to blanket the town with yellow and black signs screaming “No Education” every spring and reject budget after budget while the towns around us easily pass their larger education budgets with their higher increases and grow their educational programs.
As a fellow taxpayer and community member, I encourage Clinton’s voters to act in their own best interests to plant the seeds that will sustain our community by voting “Yes” to the education budget on May 11.
Kim Buckley
Clinton
Kim Buckley serves on the Board of Education.