School Funding Override Vote YES on Question #2

Typically, politics is one of three topics that I avoid discussing, but after years of avoidance I feel inclined to voice an opinion on the vote for Question 2 (School Funding Override) on June 11.

There are a lot of passionate discussions happening around Medfield recently and I have been both encouraged and disheartened by listening to what my fellow Medfieldians have to say. On one hand, families with young kids have posted pictures and icons on Facebook featuring “yes” on #1&2”. These get plenty of “likes” and the comments are filled with agreeable messages. On the other hand, we have seen from those without children in the school system an actual plea against the request for funding with logical, thought out articles to support their position. I took the following Patch article particularly to heart: https://patch.com/massachusetts/medfield/letter-editor-urging-vote-no-question-2)

The other night, I posted this same link to a local neighborhood "Dad" chat. I wanted to present an opposing viewpoint to those on the chat, and encourage discussion. To no surprise, the feedback received was an overwhelming response against this article.

Now, with less then 48 hours before voting takes place, I can’t help but feel that the folks who are against the funding have presented more of a compelling argument by putting time and energy into posting articles with convincing points, as opposed to those that simply re-post and share a link on Facebook. It is not to say that expressing a viewpoint on social media is not effective, more that it is only effective with the groups and friends you are already connected with.

All of that said, if you are planning to vote ‘no’ here is what I would like to suggest :
Though you may no longer have a child that will attend Medfield schools, or you may not have a child all together, this is a community built on education and our future generations. Supporting this vote as a ‘yes’ is supporting Medfield for years to come. There are many additional reasons why we as a community have continually prioritized education - but most importantly it’s about paying it forward (figuratively and literally). In my own Medfield neighborhood, we have a local graduate of Medfield. He owns a home, pays taxes and is raising his two children that will be attending our school system in the near future. I would hope that if we asked his family 30 years ago whether they’d support this same initiative, they’d look to the future and say yes.