Thursday, April 21, 2011

Venting my spleen!


If you have a strong opinion - whether it be about politics, education, the present culture or anything at all - there’s a place on the web for you to “vent your spleen.” Recently, however, I reverted to a somewhat outdated method: I chose the “letter to the editor” option because my opinion has to do with the upcoming local school board election. Two local newspapers published my letter.

When I heard about a relatively new local website called “Patch” for my town of Cedar Grove and its neighbor Verona, I submitted my letter and was delighted to find that the editor kept it on the site for a week. I think the reason may be the fact that I address the current crisis in the Cedar Grove school system from a different perspective, that of a “senior” who is tired of hearing that members of the older generation typically vote down school budgets.

The school budget vote is scheduled for April 27th. Concerned parents have been holding meetings to explain reasons for passing the budget. Most of the attendees are their peers.  I believe, however, that the older generation needs to take a good look at the budget and the reasons it should pass.   I don’t know if my letter will have any effect on the vote.  I do know, however, that we are fortunate to have a variety of outlets to express a strong opinion. 






2 comments:

  1. I'd love to read your letter! I am, for the first time ever, going to vote against our local school board budget. It was carefully crafted with a great deal of community participation. They made the difficult, but correct, decisions to close two schools and lay off dozens of staff members. Then, at the last minute, they decided to fund a football program that had previously been paid for by the Booster Club. My quandary is not whether I should vote for it, but whether I should actively campaign for its defeat.

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  2. And, yes, I am venting my spleen on this one!

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