Letter To The Editor – Outrage At Unilateral Decisions

Dear Eastwick Press:
I am writing to express my outrage that the Interim Superintendent of the Berlin School District, along with the School Board, have unilaterally decided to close Grafton Elementary without a town vote. Is this even legal?
How does one go about challenging this decision? I do not believe that the Interim Superintendent was given the powers to close a school, nor do I believe that the Board of Education included the valley when they met at a supposed “budget meeting” and voted to close Grafton.
Closing a perfectly good school, adding modulars (who wants to go to school in a modular???) and busing these students much longer distances seems MORE expensive than leaving the school open. It is also counter productive to helping children learn and bringing more commerce into our valley.
We were not asked whether or not we wanted the Grafton School closed, yet we pay the same school taxes that everyone else here pays, so it seems to me that our input is important.
I do not believe that we should allow the Berlin School Board and the Interim Superintendent to continue to make these decisions for us. It is time for the valley to come together and put a stop to this type of behavior once and for all.
According to Charlotte Gregory’s Berlin Newsletter, closing Grafton and installing modulars is a done deal. Tell me, did you approve it?
Julie Harrell
Cherry Plain