Dear BOE Member

Dear BOE Member,

You, the one sitting there quietly wondering. You know who you are. You think to yourself, "Wow 24-26 kids per class and if enrollment increases, even more kids per class, that sounds wrong." You wonder what would happen to special education services, maybe even calculate the cost a single law suit would be if a parent felt that her special need child was not served. You look at the cost savings analysis and think, "Well, how do we know we would fire a library aid or food service assistant if we consolidate? Maybe we would need them in a larger school. We don't seem to really know how much we would save by closing a school." You hear Rosario tell you that an empty building will not rent or sell and think, "That's bad. We can't have a building just sit and rot." You also hear Rosario say that BOCES would only be willing to rent space in a school with kids and wonder, "Why not ask them to rent the extra space in each of our three schools?" You see the principle, teachers, parents, community members all truly distraught at what could be the greatest mistake ever made in our district, and you think, "Can I live with that?"

Go with these thoughts BOE member. Know that we the public will applaud you if you have the courage to stand up to those who see a dollar amount, believe it and ignore the real impact on our district. We need you, BOE member, who knows in your heart that this feels wrong. We need you to speak for us. And when you do, you will be able to be proud of the role you played as our hero.

I look forward to shaking your hand.