Letter to the Editor: Make Room for More Success

Let’s Make Room for More Success!

I am writing to say that I am voting YES on April 21st.

I wholeheartedly support our elected, volunteer Board of Education members to make recommendations that would enhance all of our children’s education in Chatham. I understand that change is always difficult and often expensive but I think if we don’t make the investment and embrace change Chatham schools won’t continue to evolve and thrive. We have been asked to embrace change before in combining the two Chatham school districts into one unified district, expanding space at our elementary schools to make room for increasing class sizes, and increasing the number of school counselors to help our children be as resilient as possible. All of those changes have not come without costs, but those costs have been exponentially returned to our children, our schools and our town. As a community, we have ALL benefited from having an excellent public school system.

I have seen evidence that when our volunteer Board of Education members and our Superintendent make a unanimous recommendation that they have done the invaluable due diligence that it takes to understand how best to enhance the Chatham schools. I appreciate that the Board of Education has focused their hundreds of hours of volunteer time discussing what is in the best interest of our children and our community.

It is unfortunate that the “NO” voices are so loud. I am appalled at the amount of vitriol and negative energy that has been thrown into this debate. I have heard and seen the inappropriate snide comments in public forums, the personal attacks of Dr. LaSusa at PTO meetings, and the inaccurate letters to the editor and Facebook posts. In response, I felt compelled to send in this humble letter to be one of the positive voices supporting the referendum, Dr. LaSusa, the Board of Education, our teachers, and most importantly, our children.

I believe that more of Chatham will vote “YES” in favor of change and making room for more success on April 21st. I’m hopeful once Chatham votes YES, the “NO” folks will embrace the decision with open arms and realize the benefits of this project will be shared by all.

Heather Robinson

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