On Nov. 4, Windsor residents will vote on whether to withdraw from RSU 12 and go it alone as an independent school district. Doing so would be a big and costly step backwards for students and taxpayers alike.

At the Oct. 22 public hearing on the proposal, the withdrawal committee pegged the cost of withdrawal at roughly $500,000. For this kind of price tag, one would expect to see real benefits in terms of teaching, programs or educational opportunities. However, the withdrawal committee could not point to any improvement that might result from withdrawal other than so-called “local control” of the elementary school. The withdrawal committee was unable to articulate any specific dissatisfaction with the Regional School Unit’s management or educational policies. On the other hand, parents, teachers and RSU board members spoke glowingly about improvements in collaboration, support, curriculum development and technology deployment that were made possible by participation in the RSU.

RSU 12 was a forced marriage that got off to a rocky start, but now it is producing real results. Three people who spoke at hearing stated that they had recently moved to Windsor specifically because of the quality of Windsor Elementary School. Withdrawal would not only jeopardize these positive developments, but also would result in the loss of the 61 tuition students from Somerville and other towns who attend Windsor Elementary — 20 percent of the total student population. And for this the town is asked to spend $500,000?

It isn’t often that one can vote one’s pocketbook while supporting quality education. A no vote on the withdrawal question will accomplish both objectives.

Jeff Frankel

Windsor

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