LETTER: ‘We are all in this together’

April 27, 2024 | By Cindy Senning

To the Community: 

As one of the Duxbury reps on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board, I urge all Duxbury residents to vote YES on the revised school budget on April 30. You can vote at the Town Clerk’s office 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be the regular drive-through polls. You can also request an absentee ballot on Monday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Town Office if you will not be around on the 30th.

The revised budget is almost $2 million lower than the previous failed budget, so the School Board has heard the voters’ message. Many people apparently voted no last time to tell the legislature that our huge property tax increases are not sustainable. The legislature has received the message and is scrambling to come up with a new school funding plan. 

Please remember that the property tax rate for education is largely set by the legislature and is for the most part out of the School Board’s control. The board and administration have worked hard to create a budget that reduces those items they can control. 

So while the legislature is hopefully getting its act together and the board is working this spring and next year to address the expense budget portion of our taxes, this time around let’s focus on our student needs and vote YES! 

And not just Duxbury residents but all residents of the district. After all, we are all in this together.

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion, not a statement from the HUUSD School Board. 

Cindy Senning

Duxbury

Cindy Senning is vice chair of the HUUSD School Board.