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March 25, 2002 Dear Citizens: The Wayland School Committee is pleased to write in support of the operating override that will be placed before the voters in the Town-wide elections being held on April 23, 2002. In so doing, we add our voice to that of a unanimous Finance Committee in recognizing that the modest tax hike proposed is manifestly in the best interests of Wayland and its schools. Mindful of the fiscal discipline that our role as Town fiduciaries enjoins us to apply, our endorsement of an operating override at this time rests upon four core considerations. First, the override is necessary. One need only read the local newspapers to realize that public schools in Massachusetts face daunting financial challenges. Wayland is no exception. Growing student enrollment populations, sharply escalating special education costs that the district is mandated by law to bear, collectively bargained salary increases negotiated with unionized personnel during better economic times, and reduced state aid for cities and towns in general and suburban schools in particular, have combined to require budgetary belt-tightening by our public schools. With a diminished tax and revenue base in Wayland, uncertain economic conditions for the foreseeable future, and an anticipated erosion of available free cash, failure to enact an operating override could threaten the Town's financial stability and compromise the strong support upon which our schools have come to rely. Second, the $1.3 million override proposed ($1 million for the schools, $300,000 for other Town departments) is limited in scope and preservational in nature. It will not allow for new curricular initiatives, augmented academic programs, or increased spending to enhance the educational performance of our schools. Rather, this conservative sum, a fraction of the more ambitious overrides and debt exclusions being sought in neighboring towns, will allow Wayland to maintain its school system against the cutbacks in quality that have diminished peer districts. There will be no lavish spending on building improvements or construction, no unnecessary growth in administrative bureaucracy, and no contingency funds to cushion against a lack of fiscal discipline. Instead, the override will permit Wayland to protect its leadership position in teacher compensation, to keep class sizes at reasonable levels, and to underwrite the sort of professional development that has consistently kept our classroom staff on top. Nobody likes paying higher taxes, but the voters of Wayland can rest assured that the override being urged upon them now does no more than what is necessary to preserve the caliber of schools we have and want. Third, Wayland citizens should understand that the current override request follows in the footsteps of years of restrained spending and judicious financial management by the School Committee and its Superintendent. Wayland has not required an operating override in five years, notwithstanding the fact that this period has coincided with a growth spurt that has increased student enrollments by some 41% since 1990. Likewise, despite the fact that the in-migration of families with school-age children has accounted for the largest component of Wayland's residential growth, and further despite the fact that spending for schools consistently ranks first among competing priorities in Town-wide surveys, the schools continue to command the same relative percentage (approximately 57%) of the overall Town budget. The schools are thus not taking more than their fair share of the Town's resources. Finally, although Wayland is often cited as an "affluent" town, the fact remains that Wayland spends less per pupil ($8,132) than the majority of school districts with which it is typically compared. The most recent figures released by the Massachusetts Department of Education rank Wayland 15 out of 20 in cost per pupil among the suburban school systems that compromise its peer group. In short, the Wayland schools have been producing their exceptional results by spending smarter, not more. The present override we seek is in keeping with this tradition. Fourth, and perhaps most important, an operating override is sought to support a school system that has earned our trust and that continues to perform at an exemplary level by every standard of educational measurement. Wayland's graduation rates, college admissions profile, average SAT's, MCAS scores, and overall reputation for academic rigor and achievement have perennially made our Town the envy of the Commonwealth. The citizens of Wayland have long taken justified pride in the excellence of our schools. But excellence costs, and it cannot be preserved without a certain measure of sacrifice. The override being petitioned now strikes an appropriate balance in the service of this goal. For voters with children in the schools, this override is a must-have. Its passage will help ensure the continued academic quality you plainly want for your children. For more senior voters, the override is part of a generational compact - a commitment that each generation of Wayland residents makes to succeeding ones to support the schools, both for the educational benefit of our children and the related enhancement of Town property values. For all of Wayland as a body politic, the impending override vote represents a defining moment for reaffirming who we are and what we value as a community. The schools need and deserve our support. We urge you to vote yes on April 23rd. Lea Anderson, Chairman Frederick Knight Jeffrey Dieffenbach Robert Gordon Cathy Shuman |