Are you a taxpayer in Standish, a parent, a teacher or a student? If you are, then you need to attend the Jan. 14 Standish town meeting. It is very important that you come to this meeting and raise your hand to vote on the $25,000 that the council is seeking for a study that could dismantle the SAD 6 school system that exists today. You probably think that could not happen, but look back at another vote that you ignored and see how this affected your use of town services.

A few years back the council voted to build an addition onto the town hall, and they told you that it was so that they could deliver better services to you, but in reality they were the ones who benefitted. There was a vote to add a $500,000 addition to the town hall and a sizeable number of people went to that meeting to voice their opposition. The right-hand side of the room was filled with people who work for the town of Standish, and they voted for that addition. The citizens who did show up in opposition were voted down and the town hall office space was expanded. Since then the town hall has gone from being opened five days a week to just four and the dump is now opened only four days. In essence they voted for additional space and then realized later that the tax base could not afford to heat and light the space. The staff now has a three-day weekend, and we have less access and less use because we cannot afford to heat and light the space that they voted to build. Please pay close attention to what is happening now to your school system because these people who are building a legacy for themselves are not always making good choices that benefit the citizens. Remember that we govern on a local level. If you don’t vote, you lose your voice.

The school system got a rebate of about $600,000 from the state, and the town manager believed that the money should have gone to the town and not to the schools. He and a couple of councilmen attended a school board meeting in hopes of diverting all or a part of that money back to the town coffers. They failed to accomplish that task and believed that they were “disrespected” at the meeting, which actually translates into “didn’t get what they wanted.” Councilors rarely attend school board meetings so it was unusual for them to do this. They went back emptyhanded and now it almost appears that they are using this study as a way of getting back at the school board for not giving them what they wanted. This does not appear to be a well-thought-out plan.

At the same time, the people who own homes and summer at Frye Island are now complaining, once again, that they pay taxes to the town for a school that they don’t use. They knew when they bought their second and third homes that they would not have children in the school system, but now they want to pull their tax dollars out of the school system. They come in the summer and use the lake and our roads and our services, and they knew when they bought here what their tax rate was, but now they want out. So expect at that meeting that there will be an entire bloc of people from Frye Island who will stand and ask to be heard.

You need to be at the meeting. If you don’t have a babysitter, bring the baby with you. You need to cast your vote or you will be paying for a study that you probably don’t want or perhaps had not even heard about. People who don’t care about your kid’s education can decide for you and your kids. The town was initially asking for $10,000, but no one would do the study for that amount of money, so they are now asking for $25,000. Do you really want your money spent for another study? Do we really need another study?

This action on the part of the council really appears to be about winning. Is this really about the education of your children? Are these councilmen so fragile that they cannot accept no for an answer? Are they really willing to upset the entire school system out of spite?

Hopefully the council hall will be filled that night. Typically, this agenda item will be put on last, so that you will be tired and go home. This is to wear you down. Trust me, I have been to many of these meetings and I know what I’m talking about. They often throw in a “closed door session” that often bores people and kills time. Please attend and please stay until the very end so that you get a chance to vote. If you care about your school, about your teachers, about your children’s education, and about your tax dollar, don’t allow them to make you a pawn in this game. Please come to this meeting and vote.

Elizabeth D. Perry

Standish