Don't Be Afraid to Move District 112 Forward: Letter

The following letter was written and submitted by Gail Hirsch Neiman.

I am writing this as a concerned resident who has lived in Highland Park for 60 years, attended school from first grade through high school here and care very much about the educational system of our community.

Highland Park has always been a community where education has held an important place in the hearts and pocketbooks of its residents. Over the years, our schools have deteriorated physically to such a degree that pouring dollars into trying to save them is not reasonable nor efficient. Our student enrollments have decreased making it unnecessary to have as many school buildings as we have had in the past. I have seen the basements of the oldest schools, the antiquated furnaces and equipment as well as the lack of air conditioning and circulation in most of them. As a teacher in the high school and a substitute in the several other schools, I have seen the kids as well as the teachers suffer brutal heat which makes teaching and learning nearly impossible.

I know change is hard for all of us and we will miss having every child walk to school. However, with so many mothers and fathers working, busing to school will not be a hardship, but, rather, a help for those with such busy schedules.

I am reminded of the referendum to annex Northbrook Court years ago, which would have brought about a change that our residents were unwilling to embrace. The loss of tax dollars from that endeavor will never be able to be recouped.

We should not be afraid to move forward, adapt an arrangement that has worked well for the Wilmette public schools as well as others and will move our children and community into a secure future.I fear that otherwise, programs will be cut, teachers will be lost and class sizes will increase and our great legacy of “education first” will be a thing of the past.

Please consider educating yourselves about Moving112 forward and vote YES in March.

Gail Hirsch Neiman