Congratulations to Kathleen Reynolds for her excellent letter to the editor re: school consolidation and the related financial and education issues. Over the past 32 years I’ve chaired a small town school board, served on the ACSU executive committee and chaired that same small town’s selectboard. I’m comfortable with my grasp of both community and culture here. Ms. Reynolds challenge to the emotionally appealing but inaccurate notion that “schools are the heart of the community” is spot on. The reality of our small communities is considerably more complicated and nuanced than such a superficial assertion conveys.
Ms. Reynolds clearly conveys the daunting challenges our state and our Addison County communities face going forward. The only way we can hope to navigate these rapids will be by thoughtful, informed, fact-based and comprehensive consideration of our options, not by yielding to the emotional plaints of “activists” and single-issue protestors.
Bruce Hiland
Middlebury (formerly of Cornwall)