To the Editor:

Brunswick residents should vote strong approval of the school budget in the June 11 school budget referendum.

Because this is an off-election year, the turnout will be very low. In 2009, only 745 people voted on the school budget. In 2011 only 959 voted.

Thus, a small minority of voters will be determining the fate of our schools. Strong approval of this budget and vigorous support for public education are important for a number of reasons.

Public education is under assault in Maine, creating great disruption and uncertainty about educational programs and finance. The state’s obligation to provide revenue sharing, to relieve local property taxes and to help equalize funding between rich and poor communities has never been fully met, and may be cut back or eliminated.

Brunswick’s tentative revenue sharing, under current formulas, would be $1,375,000. Even this amount is now in jeopardy. Maine’s Department of Education has launched a crude and unreliable rating system that pits schools and towns against one another, with the potential effect of encouraging parents to abandon public schools in their communities.

In contrast, Brunswick voters have long recognized strong and healthy public schools are vital to a community. Brunswick school budget validation votes each June have shown strong support for our public schools. Good public schools contribute to a sense of community, rather than a sense of separation and divisiveness. Local schools are a focal point of community life, community pride, and a way of bringing people together. Good local schools affect property values. Good local schools provide all students with lifelong analytical skills, skills needed in an increasingly diverse, competitive and confusing society.

Although it looks likely, based on history, that the school budget will be approved in next Tuesday’s referendum, we should take no chances. With a small voter turnout of less than a thousand voters in off-election years, anything can happen. Moreover, even if the budget is approved, the percentage of any approval should be as high as possible. This will to send a message to elected leaders that Brunswick voters vigorously support public education, and will vote accordingly.

Ralph L. Tucker
Brunswick