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February 20, 2003
Arlington Board of
Selectmen
Arlington Town Hall
Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA 02476
Dear Selectmen:
As you know, Schools
are a Priority in Our Town (SPOT) is a group that formed last spring to
advocate and serve as a “watchdog” for Arlington’s schools.
It is comprised of a broad spectrum of parents and citizens who have an
interest in the education of our children from grades kindergarten through
high school. SPOT’s e-list, Think Of Our Kids (TOOK), has seen a
great deal of discussion regarding the Town of Arlington’s serious
budget crisis. The SPOT Organizing Committee has compiled a list of issues
and suggestions that have been generated during the TOOK conversations.
We felt it would be helpful for you to see a summary of these thoughts.
The following issues have been raised in the past months:
- keeping quality
teaching staff
- making cuts that
least affect direct services to students
- difficult times
mean difficult choices and "thinking out of the box"
- these cuts will
not be mended in only a year's time
- a civilized society
takes care of the young, the old, education and public safety
- the need to look
at state funding formulas
The following solutions
have been raised:
- review/modify
the O'Neill formula
- begin private fundraising
- increase foundation
support
implement increased fees
- close a fire station
- enact a restaurant
tax
- put an override
on the ballot
- close the Fox Library
- examine health
insurance benefits
- sell Gibbs and
other school properties as leases expire
- "pay as you
throw" trash or implement a trash fee charged to all residents
- use school libraries
to enhance the school's images and make up for the loss of library
- implement a two-tiered
property tax to exempt from taxation the first “x” value
of a property (Brookline does this to protect low-income members of
the community; this would also assist seniors)
- moratorium on pay
raises for administrators and management
- close a school
- form a regional
school system/consortiums for purchasing with other towns
- redistricting neighborhood
schools
- appoint a new or
existing committee that is charged with looking at alternative revenues
- work at the state
level to change funding formulas, examine alternative revenue sources,
and mandated programs
What has been clear
on TOOK is that the participants are willing to look “outside of
the box,” think creatively, and see the Town’s budget situation
as both a long and short term issue. It is important to note that these
ideas and suggestions in no way represented a “consensus”
view of participants on the list. On the other hand, the range of these
ideas highlights the seriousness with which citizens are examining this
fiscal crisis and want to provide input to the process that is before
us as well as to collaborate with you. We urge you to take into serious
consideration all of these points in your budget discussions.
Sincerely,
Sharon Grossman (16
Peabody Road; isgross@rcn.com)
For The SPOT Organizing Committee
Lori Talanian, l.talanian@worldnet.att.net
Cindy Friedman, cfriedman@attbi.com
Leslie Mayer, blmayer@msn.com
Cathy Clement Saleh, cathysaleh@attbi.com
Nancy Barry, nmb1@attbi.com
Annie LaCourt, annie@lacourt.net
Jennifer Potter, jenniferpotter@rcn.com
Andrew Fischer, asfischer@attbi.com
Mary Megson, megson@fas.harvard.edu
Mary Sprague, msprague@wellesley.edu
Cc:
Arlington School
Committee
Kay Donovan, Superintendent of Schools
Alan Tosti, Finance Committee Chairperson
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