Letter: The Referendum in Whoville

On the second of May
In the Jungle of Groton
The Voters all thought
The Phase Two plan was rotten
Wickersham Brothers and Sour Kangaroos
Rallied the troops to make the vote lose
They ranted and raved about all sorts of things
Like test scores and budgets and NO NEW BUILD-INGS
“These schools have been fine since nineteen fifty one
My dad went, then I did, and now goes my son
We gave you Phase I and my taxes did raise
Now you stand here and tell there’s a Second new Phase?”

Like Horton the famous el-e-phant before him
Mr. Kadri the Super-intendent informed them
“This plan wasn’t conjured by me overnight
Five years by committee to craft it just right
It balances class sizes and preschool for masses
It enables activities and more advanced classes
And all of this, Friends, comes at lesser shared cost
From retirements early and waste that is lost”

“I hear what you say about State contributions
But I’m concerned more of education solutions
I hear of no sports
I hear of no bands
I hear that you’ll bus kids all cross the lands
I hear there’s even a park with no swings
I hear of a chorus without any sings
That Kadri is crazy to propose with such bliss
Does he think for a second we’re buying all this?”

“Its true, please believe me! I tell you sincerely
My ears are quite keen and I hear you completely
I know its not perfect, as everyone flaunts
But it balances well our needs, costs and wants
For years you’ve puzzled till your puzzlers were sore
Would you have us just stand here and puzzle some more
While buildings get older and boilers get fixed
With dollars that could have been used for new bricks?”

The ending, my friends, depends on our action
But regardless of whether your Yea or Nay faction
We owe Mr. Kadri, our Horton, our thanks
He endured our grouches, our grumps and our cranks
New to our town, he came and he toured
Our schools and streets and town meetings endured
He put forth more effort not for personal gain
As he trudged through the snow, sleet and freezing rain
He stuck by us while we perhaps showed him attitude
Regardless which vote, we owe him our gratitude