To the editor:
American towns and cities once believed that the formal schooling of our youth was one, if not the most, important responsibility of its citizens, along with its elected local, regional, and state legislators. Sadly, this seems no longer to be the case.
I live in the town of Edgecomb, Maine, and the Edgecomb Eddy School (grades K-6) ranks 14th in the state in its ability to provide a high-quality education for our kids and grandkids. Compared to other local schools, the Eddy School is far and away the best grade school for miles around.
Yet, since 2011, when I first came to live in Edgecomb, the cost associated with supporting and maintaining the Eddy School and its wonderful teachers and administrators has come up each and every year at the annual town hall meetings. Efforts appear to be in play to slowly defund the school until the only option left will be to close it and ship our children and grandchildren to neighboring school systems.
I find this troublesome, if not appalling, for a number of reasons. First, I wish to address Edgecomb’s citizenry, many of which, as is the case with Maine in general, are of retirement age.
Most of us are somewhat, if not very, dependent upon Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, not to mention other state and local programs aimed at supporting not only the aging among us but those that are struggling financially. Tax dollars must be sufficient to support these programs. So from where do we think we will find the educated job holders and community leaders of tomorrow that will fund these safety net programs? Are we that shortsighted? Are we that out of touch that we don’t understand the connection between a vibrant community and country and a quality education of our children?
Second, how lucky we are in Edgecomb to not only have a high state ranking but also a child-to-teacher ratio that fosters such stellar results. Under what kind of thinking, regarding this town’s future, do we wish to close the Eddy School and force parents and their kids to get their formative years of education in another community where our input and influence will most certainly be diminished?
Finally, I am fully aware that there are budget issues in play here. Priorities must be set, but these are not unique to Edgecomb. All costs for essential community services are rising year after year and in many cases with reduced state revenue sharing. But when the source of today’s local taxes, to include our vital Maine summer folks, come from previously well-educated citizens, whose forebears understood the value of a solid education, how can we de-prioritize our one local and most excellent school?
Please, please think this through as our annual Edgecomb town meeting nears. Show up, speak up, and fight for giving our children and grandchildren the one thing that will make a difference in theirs as well as our lives, a worthy education. Please – get involved!
John L. Ross
Edgecomb
