Save Middletown Schools

The Middletown school board has decided that closing down three schools, eliminating 40 jobs, and increasing school taxes by 3% is the best solution to remedy the situation in regard to the school budget's estimated 30 million deficit if the district doesn't act now to mitigate the problem. Instead of finding an alternative solution that keeps the schools afloat, jobs intact, and taxes low, Middletown School Board President Chris Aveta, and the majority of the school board have decided that their failure should become a burden to not only the parents and students, but the community as a whole in Middletown. The failure of the school board should not fall upon the hands of those who rely on the leadership in Middletown to make the right decisions that benefit the community as a whole. This is not only a failure in government, but this is a failure in leadership as well. As a leader, when a ship goes down, you sink with it, you don't force everyone else to go down alongside you.

This is cowardice, and the easy way out. It's easy to make decisions that burden those who rely on you, when you're the one in charge of implementing the policies that impact their everyday lives. This decision was made without the consultation of the community, and this decision is being made through disregarding the concerns of the parents, students, and teachers who keep the community thriving in Middletown. This is not leadership, this is not good government, or governance. This is undemocratic, cowardly, and ultimately detrimental to the people of Middletown who are not in a position of power to make these decisions. The community should have a say about what happens to their school district. They hired you, the school board to make the decisions that they believe is best, and you have not only broken that trust, but you have completely disregarded it as well.

If fellow school board members Erin Torres, Mark Soporowski and Joan Minniues can see a better alternative than this, that includes the consultation of the community, then the majority of the board should see that too, but they don't because they don't respect the community in Middletown, and they refuse to listen to the concerns of the community in Middletown. And where's the leadership from further above? What ever happened to Mayor Tony Perry? Has anyone seen him show up to work recently? The community has repeatedly asked Mayor Tony Perry to intervene in this situation to potentially influence the school board to make a better decision, that doesn't result in jobs being lost, schools being closed, and taxes increasing in Middletown. But like the School Board, Mayor Tony Perry refuses to listen to the community, and is instead reacting through apathy and disregard towards the community. He's too busy running for the County Commission, and even then he's not campaigning for it.

The leadership in Middletown has failed its residents, and now it is up to the people, as always, to change the state of how things are, and I am confident that the people of Middletown will prevail, even if it's not immediate, because I believe in the power of community, of people, not government. Middletown Schools need to be saved.