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I want to thank the many organizations and volunteers who helped get factual information out to the community regarding the Greenfield High School vote on May 1. Without the hard work of the Recorder staff, the Alumni Association, the Greenfield Education Foundation, and many other dedicated citizens… that vote might have gone very differently.

I also want to thank the 2,949 Greenfielders who voted- something that 74% of our fellow citizens did not do. I am of course grateful to those of you who voted to move this project forward. That said, I also want to thank those who used their vote to remind us that just because something is good doesn’t mean it’s free. Those 557 “no” votes demonstrate that for every public good, there is a very real human cost.

Our new high school will impact many people’s lives- some of whom will gain a wonderful new learning environment, others of whom will face difficult financial and lifestyle decisions. James Madison once said that “in republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.”.

Of those 557 opponents, how many wanted our high school to fall into ruin? Probably none. Instead, their votes admonish us to be mindful of the shared burden we are undertaking as a community. Greenfield has programs to provide tax relief to the needy, but those can only do so much. As chair of the Building Committee, I feel personally duty-bound to be even more cognizant of the financial and community-use impacts of our design decisions.

Now that we are moving forward, I also hope our local volunteers will continue working for a new high school- by raising money to help reduce our town’s share of the cost, which will lower everyone’s final tax bill. The Alumni Association, the Greenfield Education Foundation, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, and Greening Greenfield have all asked about ways that private donations can help reduce construction costs. If you are a member of our community who is blessed with the freedom to help, I hope you will contact one of our local service groups to offer your support.

We are a lucky community to be building a new high school; but, some of us need extra help to bear the burden. If we work together, mindful of all the different individuals our new high school will affect, we can make this project a true public good for everyone.

There is a tendency amongst politicians to talk about education in terms of “The Three Rs”- Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.  While those skills are important foundations for learning, if we go back to the earliest debates in America on the need for public education, we see time and again that the argument that public education is that knowledge and reasoning are necessary for the preservation of a free nation.

For instance, Thomas Jefferson wrote the following to James Madison in 1787:

“Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.”

Madison himself echoed these sentiments in later years:

“I congratulate you on the foundation thus laid for a general System of Education, and hope it presages a superstructure, worthy of the patriotic forecast which has commenced the Work. The best service that can be rendered to a Country, next to that of giving it liberty, is in diffusing the mental improvement equally essential to the preservation, and the enjoyment of the blessing.”

Unfortunately, education in the United States has drifted away from this goal over the last several decades.  More and more focus has been directed at the foundations of learning- to the exclusion of the purpose of education.

Here in Greenfield, we are blessed with a solid school system.  We have excellent teachers, strong core curricula, and an organized, efficient administration.  Our students are performing competently on our state’s standardized test- the MCAS.  This “Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System” is, sadly, far from comprehensive.  There is not even an approved History or Social Studies test.

As a result, many schools in Massachusetts have deemphasized the courses that would get students ready for such a test.  Without a strong History and Civics curriculum, how can public education fulfill it’s most important role- preparing children to become citizens, participants in their government, instead of subjects to a faceless hierarchy?

When I was on the School Committee, Greenfield was already establishing itself as a statewide leader in education.  It is time to continue that work by establishing Civics as part of our core curriculum- the skills students need in order to graduate.  After all, isn’t helping students to understand the purpose of school a part of a well-rounded education?

I frequently get asked why I run for public office.  After all, it’s a lot of work- and in Greenfield at least, the School Committee isn’t paid.  Why spend a ton of time running for office (and maybe lose), just to get a second job that doesn’t pay anything?

I am a citizen.

To me, that is a sufficient answer.  Citizens are participants in their own government, not bystanders, or worse- subjects of some faceless power over which they have no control.

When we foist the responsibility of running our government off onto someone else, we are giving up control over our own lives.  Take taxes for instance- a lot of people complain about taxes.  Taxes are high because we are paying a lot of people to run our government for us.  If, like me, you’d like to pay lower taxes, it means that we have to do more of the work that keeps our civilization going.

Back in the old days, many community buildings were actually built by the community.  People kept the costs of these buildings low by contributing their own materials and labor to the project.  Obviously, as more and more people worked fixed hours and the buildings themselves got more complex, this stopped being practical.  As a result, taxes had to go up to pay for the work to get done.  Nowadays, the key to lower taxes is for us to be active participants in maintaining our community resources and in keeping an eye on the money.

This same principal applies in all aspects of government.  If, like me, you think that our laws are too complicated and actually get in the way of people trying to follow the law, the solution is to become involved in lawmaking- even just as a volunteer on legislative campaigns.  Want to save the Marbled Salamander or the old Asher Benjamin house on Main Street?  Volunteer to help- don’t just complain about it on Facebook.

If we are to continue to live in a free republic, as our ancestors wanted for us, it falls to us to do the dirty work of keeping it going.  That’s why I run for office- because it’s my responsibility.

There are no rights that do not carry an equal measure of responsibility.

Okay, so why School Committee then?

Education is something that I know about.  I’ve spent the last ten years working in education and I have a pretty solid understanding of many of the issues.  It’s one of the places where I can be most helpful to my community.  It’s not the only one, but it’s the most logical place for me to direct my energies for the time being.

We’ve come a long way in Greenfield.  Our schools are better than they’ve been in a decade or more.  Our downtown is starting to become more vibrant and businesses are hiring and expanding.  A lot of people have done a lot of work to get us to this point.

But there is no guarantee that it will continue.

We have to continue to work at improving our community.  There is no such thing as “standing still” in history- either your star is rising, or it is falling.

If we want our schools to continue to provide an excellent education, we need a School Committee that continues to support and encourage our teachers and administrators in that effort.  We need to elect school leaders who understand education- people who have been in the classroom, people who have experience dealing with the state agencies that govern education.

For the last ten years, I’ve worked at a small special education school in the “Flats” section of Holyoke.  Starting as a substitute teacher, I moved into a full-time classroom teaching role.  Now, I serve as the school’s Director of Instructional Technology- keeping the computers running, helping teachers to integrate technology into their lessons, and mentoring students who want to pursue technical careers.

Since 2008, I’ve also been actively advocating for educational reforms.  I’ve worked to strengthen the joint advocacy of Franklin County schools by building bridges with other area school committees.  I helped Greenfield found the first virtual school in Massachusetts, giving students who could not attend a physical school the chance to earn an education.

In 2011, I asked Secretary of Education Paul Reville and members of the Joint Committee on Education to support raising the dropout age to 18- such a bill is now winding its way through the legislature.

Locally, I’ve also been chairing the committee working to revitalize Greenfield High School while keeping the cost to our community’s taxpayers as low as possible.  We negotiated a deal with the state to build a new school at a two-thirds discount- saving Greenfield taxpayers at least $120 a year compared to the cost of renovation!

If we want to keep this positive momentum going, we need to re-elect School Committee members with experience- like myself and John Lunt.  I hope to see you at the polls on June 12th!