To the Editor:

We are on the tail end of a presidential election where the one thing people can agree on is the negative way with which the process was managed and the division it caused for our country that will take years to heal. Immediately after, the Charter School surprised the town by applying for an expansion that impacts the rest of the school district’s funding. That was not fair. Various parties representing the school district fought back with very loud voices and a lawsuit. Also, not fair. We are putting our kids in the middle, dividing the town and creating a win-lose situation that will take years to mend. Sound familiar?

I remember reading the Town Topics article that came out when Steve Cochrane assumed the role as our superintendent and was impressed by his background. I have heard good things about his leadership since then. And we need big leadership now!

We need big leadership to teach our kids that partnering can lead to great outcomes for everyone, the loudest voice is not always the right one, and representing complicated situations with half-true sound bites is not the way to ‘win.’ My hope is that Mr. Cochrane can get the right people together to hash out a compromise that can be co-presented to the town and the state before it is too late. Thank you for representing all of the public school children of this town.

Rebecca Feder 

Mount Lucas Road, 

Parent of Charter School Kids 

(but that is beside the point)