ContributorThank you for covering the very important override issue and for laying out a lot of the facts of a complicated situation. I, however, am disappointed in the overall lack of urgency in the article. Our town stands on the brink and we should be saying that clearly and directly.
If the override does not pass, Burbank Elementary School may close, most sports and extracurriculars at the high school will be canceled by fiscal year 2026, there will be drastic cuts to police, fire, and public safety, and the town will struggle to pay for badly needed repairs. Have you seen our roads and or heard about the current closure of Winn Brook because of an unsafe heating system?
Newton failed to pass an override in recent years and their teachers are on strike because of the conditions this failure created.
In your article, Select Board Chair Roy Epstein is quoted about the exploding enrollment of Belmont public schools in recent years. This is another way of stating something we all know to be true, everyone that’s moving into Belmont is moving here because of the excellent reputation of our public schools. My family included. If the override fails and we are faced with overcrowded schools and declining education standards, then what will Belmont be known for and why would it be a desirable place to live?
More directly stated, the override must pass. If it does not, our schools and our children will suffer. For those readers who do not have public school students in the family and who own homes in town, their real estate values will suffer. If the override fails, everyone in Belmont will be worse off in more ways than one.
Please support the override.
Dallas Foster
Bellevue Road
