To the editor:

Tiverton neighbors, this Saturday, we as a town will vote to decide where to spend our tax dollars for the next fiscal year. That alone, I suspect, has you reaching for the antacids. Budgeting is irritating, to say the least, and it’s job enough to create one for our own households, never mind for an entire town. The problem with skipping the discussion about our town’s budget, however, is that if we don’t discuss, debate, and discern what we think is best for our community, then we aren’t likely to get what we desire or expect. So I offer these thoughts for your consideration.

There are two budgets from which to choose this year. Budget 1 is the Budget Committee’s choice, and Budget 2 is a petitioner-submitted budget. Both budgets offer reductions in our town tax rate, which in itself is an amazing feat. Budget 2, however, is my choice, for the following reasons. First, it provides funds for the library which will allow for a return to Tuesday morning hours at the main branch, and Saturday hours at Union Library. Patrons have been clamoring for this since those hours were removed due to past years’ budget reductions. *Full disclosure, I’m a library trustee.

Secondly, Budget 2 allows for infrastructure improvements that have gone by the wayside for too many years, due to gaps in past budgets that required movement of funds from infrastructure to other departments.

Third, Budget 2 provides an increase to our town’s school funding, which is less than the schools requested, but markedly more than Budget 1 provides. Why? Put simply, if we want schools that are better equipped to teach 21st century students, we need to put our money where our mouths are. The new Superintendent’s plan to make improvements in the district needs taxpayer support for the tools. My son’s freshman history text is copyrighted 1993. His science text dates back even further. New programs and materials are expensive, as are the professional development sessions needed for teachers to implement them. Teachers want and deserve training in reliable, researched teaching methods to help our students achieve the high standards that the state has set out for them. The Common Core standards that our students are expected to master make school today much different than in years past. Kindergartners now are expected to know all their letters and sounds, print their first names, read CVC words, count to 20, and add and subtract within 10. This was NOT the kindergarten experience I remember. If we want increases in the almighty test scores, and thus increases in property values, then we need to make increased school funding a priority for this next fiscal year.

Thanks for reading my letter, and whatever you decide, please make an effort to vote on Thursday or Friday at Town Hall, or Saturday at Tiverton High.

Kim Sutherland

Tiverton