To the Editor:

I am voting “yes” on the ballot question in Freeport on Dec. 17 that will open the conversation and begin a process to return to a Freeport school district and withdraw from Regional School Unit 5. Please join this conversation and ask for a discovery of our true options in educating our students.

The issue is weighted on both sides: We recently passed a bond to renovate the high school, barely — and, indeed, withdrawal from the RSU will delay that work, but not derail it.

RSU 5 has made strides in curriculum development and professional offerings for faculty, and there is no doubt we have “critical mass” in our high school today.

Arguments to preserve RSU 5 bring up compelling points. I might be persuaded to give the benefit of the doubt to these arguments and allow more time to develop the relationship among our three communities.

I might be persuaded to vote “no” on Dec. 17 — except for the stark reality of how this regional school unit votes on critical matters of funding.

Since RSU 5’s inception, Durham and Pownal have voted down nearly every budget offering and bond referendum. This concrete illustration of voting history tells me that every vote in the future will only be tougher. The additional pressure on the school budget from the bond interest payments and the rising cost of schools will very likely produce similar results.

Isn’t this our most important civic responsibility, educating our children?

None of our communities chose the RSU structure, and it’s clear Pownal and Durham don’t appreciate the “stiff-arm” elections from Freeport voters.

Let’s find another structure and cease the manufacture of friction and distrust across our community. Local control is worth the wait.

John Egan
Freeport