I believe in strong public schools. I do not now have school-age children, but I gladly spend as much tax money as I can in order to assure that all of our children receive a wonderful education.
Concord public schools are thankfully exceptional. They are why many people move to our town, and I am proud of that. That was why at our last Town Meeting I voted for the budget proposed by the School Committee over the budget proposed by the Finance Committee. I believed that the School Committee knew the facts better than the Finance Committee. I also believed that the School Committee more accurately reflected my values than the Finance Committee.
It was with the same trust that I also voted, at the same meeting, to name our new middle school after Ellen Garrison.
I know that many people have had many different ideas about good names for the new school. I personally thought that naming the school after a home-grown, female civil rights activist was an excellent idea, and just as I had voted for the School Committee’s budget I had expected that my second vote would be respected.
My second vote was not respected. Regardless of how you feel about naming the school this or that, it seems fundamental that we respect the wishes of one another, as we teach in our schools — and, in a democracy, to respect the taxpayers who speak as a majority.
The School Committee took my money. And then they ignored me. They gave me a “compromise” I rejected. They are cherry-picking from the democratic process, and cherry-picking is not democratic at all. That is why I am voting for Michael Williams and Concord For All. I feel like Michael will actually listen to me.
Deborah Dorfman
Lang Street
