by Hugh Silk ·
Friday, January 20, 2023
Last week I read with interest the story in the Press about ways our town has chosen to save money on the backs of others. I am very concerned that we are trying to nickel and dime our teachers during the current negotiations, rather than paying them what they are worth. My children are no longer in the Harvard school system, and yet I am willing to pay a little more in my taxes for our teachers who have always offered high quality education.
Bromfield is perennially ranked one of the top schools in the state, and also ranked very well in the nation. Clearly the teachers are doing a great job. Let’s face it, people move to Harvard for the school system. Every year when seniors graduate, “for sale” signs go up and families leave. We can afford to pay our teachers well, seeing as we are all profiting from the values of our houses because of them, and from how well our children go off to do in university and the real world.
While I’m on this topic, I can’t figure out why we also want to nickel and dime our seniors. First, we gouge them on the Transfer Station costs for bags and annual fees we did not used to charge for, and now we’re trying to pay them less than minimum wage for their tax work-off jobs. Really? We can afford to pay seniors $15 an hour (rather than $12 an hour) to show them some respect. After all, many of them gave service and time to this town, and if they’re still here, they stuck it out after their kids finished high school because they’re dedicated to the town.
We are better than this. We talk a big game about advocating for equity in the world. Let’s act locally with sincerity first, please.
Hugh Silk
Oak Hill Road