If I could title this letter it would be, “Just An Exploratory Vote,” for that’s what Freeport residents were led to believe when they voted to “explore the effects of withdrawal ” last year. By the first public meeting of the Withdrawal Committee it was clear that there was no exploration of anything going on, but rather a committee had been formed to engage in the withdrawal process. For many Freeport voters. this intention was unclear to all but those working at the heart of the issue: the group of people seeking withdrawal. This was not a group of people seeking to provide Freeport residents with a fair assessment of the pros and cons of withdrawal. What Freeport residents received for the $50,000 dedicated to “explore the effects of withdrawal” was a plan to dissolve the RSU. There is something deceptive about that.
The difficulty of passing the school budget has come up time and time again as an argument to sever ties with Pownal and Durham. As one 47-year resident of Freeport stated, “The school budget was not easy to pass when it was just Freeport. People have short memories.” If the budget issue is the sole reason you are voting to withdraw, please reconsider after a careful review of the school budget votes. You will note that the budget passed during our years as an RSU, often with increases recommended by the public. During some prior non-RSU years, when it was only Freeport votes that counted, the budget did not pass. Voting to withdraw will strip the public of its input on the budget and give that power back to the Town Council, where there were often cuts before the budget was passed. Freeport’s Town Council currently appears to be particularly interested in regaining control of the school budget.
How about the attrition rate the Withdrawal Committee continues to harp on? Implying that our schools are so poor that no one wants to attend them, they continue to point out that this year, an exceptionally large number of students chose not to transition from the middle school to the high school. What a coincidence! The Withdrawal Committee created uncertainty and instability; they threw the families and students of Freeport, Pownal and Durham into a state of flux. Did they then expect to see enrollment increase? That’s a grand plan! Why is the Withdrawal Committee unable to point the finger at themselves for the loss of students from the school system? Why can they not see that the destabilization is a direct result of their efforts?
The Withdrawal Committee recently presented their prospective financial impact of withdrawal report at a Town Council meeting, the result of Freeport’s $50,000 investment. The Withdrawal Committee used last year’s budget numbers to present their report, stating that this year’s budget numbers were unavailable. This year’s budget numbers are and were available. It’s clear that the Withdrawal Committee didn’t use those numbers because doing so would have shown an approximate $900,000 necessary increase in Freeport’s school budget. This is nothing but misleading.
Why does the Withdrawal Committee find it necessary to create manipulative, deceptive signs that attempt to confuse people about the vote if they claim they are making an effort for the greater good of Freeport? Do they not trust people to be smart enough to understand what no or yes means?
The RSU is working. Ask the kids. Review what was offered at Freeport High School five years ago and what is offered there today. Keeping the RSU together will allow the school system to continue to provide expanded class offerings, enriching and varied extracurricular activities, increased salaries and competitive sports teams. A renovated, expanded, modernized school will throw Freeport dynamically into the 21st-century educational sphere. A no vote will send the message to prospective residents that stability, cooperation and progress exists in Freeport.
Let’s call this vote what it is. A vote to withdraw is a vote to support the gentrification of Freeport. That’s not who we are. Freeport is better than that. Our schools are better because we are together with Pownal and Durham. The Withdrawal Committee’s arguments are convincing. Good law and business minds crafted them, but they’re not true. I encourage you to vote no.
Jennifer Libsack
Freeport
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