As you may be aware, there is a meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 6th at MMU HS starting at 6:00. This public forum and vote asks the residents of MMMUSD towns to approve the merger of Huntington in order to complete the process of consolidation that was started in 2014. I am a representative serving the town of Underhill on the board, but I am writing this post as a private citizen to ask you to please attend the meeting and to vote "yes" on the article presented. There is time set aside for community comment and the vote is scheduled to take place around 7:30.
This post could resemble War and Peace if I tried to address all the various posted information, not to mention the analysis and interpretation from people across the spectrum regarding the merger and the vote. Here are a few important points to consider….
The district is asking voters to accept Huntington into the district based on what the school board, superintendent and the state feel is the best school governance structure for our communities. While some people in Huntington may feel that they are being "bullied" into merging, the intent of the district is to fully integrate Huntington into the school's policy governance structure. This vote is our way of showing the people of Huntington that we want them to be a part of that structure and our district.
Why consolidate? There are several compelling arguments supporting this position. First, part of the original intent of consolidation was to streamline costs and to allow administrators and school personnel to spend more time serving the needs of students. Consolidation provides more opportunities for school administration to address issues around educational quality rather than on attending meetings or juggling budgets and paperwork generated by each school. Secondly, under the current board of education decision, the state has indicated that it expects Huntington to accept merger and that the merger would best serve the needs of the town and students. While Huntington is challenging this ruling in the courts (as is their right), this legal challenge consumes large amounts of time for all parties - time that could be best used to other purposes - not to mention that Huntington had three years during which time to come up with an alternate proposal, something they did not do.
I believe that voting "yes" on this article is the right thing to do for our towns, for our schools and for our young people - I would not be writing this if I did not believe it. In addition, should the vote go for "no", it is probable that the whole process would be reset - meaning that much of the work that has been done would be lost. As a result, your presence and support is vital on June 6th so that we can show the people of Huntington that we wish to welcome them into our governance structure with the full strength and confidence of the communities our district represents.
Thanks so much for reading - it's VERY hard to keep this post short. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or thoughts about the vote. In addition, please check the MMMUSD website for additional information. You can also reach out to Andrew Pond (the board chair) or John Alberghini (the superintendent).
Thanks again for reading and we hope to see you on the 6th.
Dec 31, 2024, 8 PM
Cambridge Fire Dept Blood DriveJan 4, 2025, 9 AM to 2 PM
Smuggs Winter MarketJan 6, 2025, 2 to 5 PM