We respect and wholeheartedly support the right of Bristol citizens to determine whether to institute a public 4-year-old (pre-K) program at their school. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
The program would come at a cost, and the people must decide whether the educational and social benefits of the program are of sufficient value to justify this cost.
Other people might have philosophical reasons for their support or opposition to the program. We leave these matters to the judgment of the voters.
What we cannot support is the method pre-K opponents chose to combat the program.
Instead of standing up at annual town meeting to engage pre-K supporters in debate or simply ask questions, opponents chose a back door route – a validation vote, usually a formality – to defeat the budget.
Pre-K opponents mounted a negative get-out-the-vote campaign at least partially based on rumors and attacks on the district and school administration.
The highly public, highly visible process leading up to the annual town meeting leaves us scratching our head about claims of hoodwinking.
Superintendent Steve Bailey, Bristol School Committee Chairman David Kolodin and Bristol Consolidated School Principal Jennifer Ribeiro have nothing material to gain with the addition of this program. Bailey and Ribeiro gain only greater responsibilities, while Kolodin, a Bristol taxpayer, will share the cost of the program.
We believe the administration acted in good faith to propose a program they believe would improve the education of BCS students.
We also submit that they made a substantial effort to educate residents about the proposal. They invited feedback and responded to difficult questions.
To illustrate the appropriate response to this proposal, we present Bristol resident Rob Davidson.
From the beginning, Davidson, a fiscal conservative, came to almost every public forum about pre-K. He expressed concerns. He asked questions. He did research. When he still wasn’t satisfied, he ran for, and won, a seat on the school committee.
Davidson, as a member of the Bristol Budget Committee, voted for the education budget. It wasn’t because he didn’t understand it, and it wasn’t a rubber stamp. We like to think it was because, after careful examination, he determined the benefits outweighed the costs.
We realize not everyone has the ability to participate at the same level. Everyone does, however, have the ability to read the newspaper or, when a neighbor calls with a rumor that sounds fishy, to check with someone who knows.
We call on every Bristol resident with doubts about or opposition to pre-K to go to the April 4 workshop and the April 10 special town meeting. State your misgivings, out in the open. Listen to the facts, listen to your neighbors, and vote how you think is best.
Should voters give the green light, we have great confidence in the ability of Ribeiro – an innovative and resourceful principal – and her staff to execute a meaningful, successful program that would enrich the lives of BCS students.
