Vote Yes On May 15

To the Editor

I am writing today to help convince voters who remain on the fence to vote Yes on the May 15 referendum and pass the school and town budget. My reasoning is very pragmatic: if the budget fails, there will be further cuts — and most worrisome to me, there will almost surely be additional cuts to the education budget.

I am speaking only for myself, not for the Legislative Council as a whole. I was a lone voice who sought to reduce the burden of the $1 million cut to the education budget during the last round of LC deliberations. Unfortunately, there was no agreement to reduce the $1 million, or even support for a formal discussion of the idea. I voted against the $1 million reduction placed at the feet of the Board of Education because I didn’t agree this was the kind of reduction that should be put forward to the public. However, I want to be clear, I will vote Yes on May 15, and strongly recommend a Yes vote from the public for the simple reason that I do not want to see further cuts. I clearly understand the rationale of other LC members to focus on the education budget to find reductions… that’s simply where a huge majority of the budget increase resides. This is also why the LC would likely look to make further reductions from the education budget if the referendum were to fail (I would again argue against it, but likely with a minority opinion).

To education supporters who’d consider a No vote in hope of restoring education funds on the next round… I say don’t do it. This is not the year for this. The high voter turnout out at the last referendum, coupled with a historically large gap of 600+ No votes, makes it clear that there is a very strong sentiment to reduce spending this year. Against that backdrop, it would likely be impossible to make your message clear. I’m not giving into fear or threats, I’m just trying to help us all move forward without doing significant harm to education and town services.

To the average voter who is truly curious and open to others’ opinions in the Letter Hive or social network outlets, I say this: be wary of the two extremes of the budget issue. In my experience, the extremes of any argument are usually equally wrong. Warnings of “Draconian cuts” and “conspiracies to dismantle education” on one side, or “clear voter mandates” and “education slush funds” on the other side… I say we should all be less dramatic and more pragmatic in our approach.

While I am endorsing a Yes vote, I know there are valid personal reasons why any individual may choose to vote No or Yes on the budget. However, there aren’t too many good reasons not to vote at all. Please be sure to get out and vote Tuesday May 15 at the middle school between 6 am and 8 pm.

Paul Lundquist

Legislative Council D-1

148 Currituck Road, Newtown                                        May 9, 2012