Susan and Steve Brierley, Westford residents
We no longer have children in the Westford Public Schools, so why are we supporting the override? The answer is simple — the cost of putting our children through the public schools was significantly more than the taxes we paid at the time, and that is still true today. But because of a shared sense of civic responsibility, the entire town supported the public school system with their property taxes (including occasional overrides), which enabled our children and their friends to get an excellent education. In fact, every resident of this town, from seniors like us down to today’s school children, has had their K-12 education, wherever they grew up, partially funded by taxes paid by those who were not “users” of the schools.
We are now in that category of “non-users” of the school system, our children having long since graduated from the Academy. But we feel strongly that it is our responsibility to pay forward the generosity of others that supported the school system for our children and ensure that the schools have the resources they need to continue providing a top-flight education to today’s children.
The Westford Public Schools have an excellent reputation in the state, one that we have maintained in spite of our per pupil spending being less than the state average. It is our collective responsibility to sustain that level of excellence for the current generation of school children and those that follow.
For the sake of all the children in Westford, please come to Town Meeting on March 23 and support the override (and vote on May 7)!
Disclaimer: If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, contact managing editor Ben Domaingue at bdomaingue@westfordcat.org. Letters to the editor are reviewed and published at the discretion of the editor. Letters to the editor represent the opinion of the reader who submits it and do not necessarily represent the opinions of WestfordCAT, its employees or any of its affiliates. WestfordCAT retains the right to refuse any letter to the editor for publication as it deems necessary.
Letters should be 750 words or less. Letters should include the name, address, phone number, email of the individual submitting it. Only name and town will be published. Submissions do not necessarily have to be from Westford residents, however, those with Westford ties will have priority. Letters that contain direct personal attacks against an individual will not be published. Letters that contain libelous content will not be published. Readers may only submit one letter per 30-day period.
