I have been a taxpaying homeowner in Gorham for 32 years. I am a senior living on a fixed income.

We have heard many times that the issue of funding of Gorham schools will continue every year if it is not addressed. Question: If Gorham does not continue to offer a quality education, will it continue to attract families, or will it become one big ol’ folks home for people like me? What type of community do residents want for the future?

Tax burden is a real concern, but I suspect that a minority of voters opposed the school budget because they have an agenda that has been rejected: an agenda to compromise school curricula to their liking and eliminate what they don’t like. Part and parcel has been the popular tactic of personal attacks on the school board and administrators.

In these times, rather than compromise our schools, we need to offer a quality education that fosters critical thinkers: to know the difference between fact and fiction, truth and baloney. I am glad that the current proposed budget preserves activities students can engage in, such as the high school civil rights team where students look to the future and do not run from our past.

We don’t know if certain voters rejected the school budget for strictly financial concerns or for other reasons. In the end what will matter on Aug. 15, when voters vote again, is that the Town Council follow whatever a majority of voters decide.

Jeff Christiansen
Gorham