Letter: Be sure to vote March 12

Tuesday, March 12. Put it on your calendar and set a reminder. It’s the ConVal voting day.

Historically, low numbers of Peterborough voters show up. Peterborough’s town vote is in May and new, unaware or distracted folks (some years, me) don’t come out. Article 10 needs your full attention. Declining school populations, soaring budgets and high cost of staffing, supporting and maintaining severely underused buildings led the ConVal School Board to propose amending the ConVal articles of agreement. They want the option to act to reduce the elementary schools to four.

The School Board is putting a stake in the ground for education over buildings. It’s a tough decision, especially for the affected towns. It needs your attention and opinion.For some, the data is clear. For others, it is not. Will no school building ruin a town? Can towns boost their populations in other ways? Will towns flee from ConVal, where will they go (and what will it cost), and what will the impact be on the district? Will this move improve outcomes and opportunities?

Personally, as resources dwindled during my children’s years at ConVal, meaningful learning opportunities and needed support disappeared and amazing teachers burned out. I support stopping this downward spiral, but decide for yourself. Dig around -- this newspaper, your neighbors, the ConVal site, Facebook (it can get intense), and you’ll find the arguments for and against this article. Make your own decision. Vote on Tuesday, March 12.

Christine McCall

Peterborough