I am not normally a person who writes letters to editors, particularly about issues as controversial as the RSU budget. So why have I written this one? Because I feel compelled to say, to people on both sides of the issue, that we have to stop bashing each other and start working together to give all our kids a good education– that’s right folks, kids from Freeport, Durham and Pownal. I think they all deserve it.

I also believe that giving kids a good education involves teaching them, by example, about civility. In discussions over the past months, a lot of people seem to have forgotten the value of civility. So, on behalf of our kids, and civility in general, I’d like to offer a few suggestions for the discussions that will be taking place over the next few weeks:

First, Freeport people, trashing your neighbors in Durham and Pownal accomplishes nothing. It’s also totally unwarranted. I lived in Durham for 10 years and I’ve seen first hand that the town is populated with decent folks who are deeply committed to education. But they’re also a community that’s been hammered with massive tax increases over the last couple of years and are justifiably hesitant to approve school budgets that will create what they perceive to be a disproportionately high additional tax burden. To fail to acknowledge that is unfair.

Durham people, you need to stop bashing back. Freeport is not getting as sweet a deal out of the budget as it appears to be. Because of our high real estate valuation, the state requires Freeport to pay a much higher required local contribution. Despite what the percentages appear to be saying, in terms of actual dollars, Freeport residents contribute significantly more toward the RSU per household than Durham or Pownal.

Bottom line: the dissing, regardless of the town it comes from, is largely unwarranted, and in the end hurts us all.

As we all know, the crux of the budget issue is the cost of the high school renovation. If you haven’t had a look at the high school, go check it out. There’s no question that something needs to be done to improve it – doing so will bring business and attract residents to the region, and over the long term that’s good for all of us, both educationally and financially. What we need to do is to stop pointing fingers and start working together to figure out how to get it done in a way that takes into account the needs and limitations of all parties. That’s going to involve accepting some compromises.

The new renovation proposal scales back or postpones a number of things. The athletics portion has wisely been broken off into a separate bond. The likelihood is that there will indeed be tax consequences, but hopefully they’ve been reduced and are equitably spread across the three towns. I’m glad that the RSU board will be getting out into the communities. I hope they’ve learned from past experience and will do better job of explaining what the numbers mean and what’s been done to make sure the burden’s been spread fairly.

Taken in sum, the strengths of our united communities greatly overshadow our differences. I’m convinced that we can bring this off, and that it can be accomplished fairly and without dissolving the RSU. But we’ve got to stop this “them” and “us” talk. As the recent study on the impact of dissolution made clear, we are, for better or worse, a region whose communities are tied together in complex ways. The quality of educational programs and facilities in the area is going to impact the economic health of the entire region. There’s no question that the RSU has its issues, but the potential it offers for initiatives that will benefit us all, benefits that will be lost if we pull it apart, makes it worth coming together as a community of communities and doing what it takes to make the consolidated district work. Our kids deserve as much.

Jon Hallstrom

Freeport