Kudos to SAD 29 School Board

To the editor:
    In light of the special school board meeting at the Wellington School this last Tuesday evening, I feel compelled to follow up my letter of last week with another one commending the SAD 29 School Board for taking the time to meet with the families of Monticello and Littleton to discuss the possibility of closing the Wellington School.
    It was apparent throughout the almost four hour session that the school board members came into the meeting with open minds and that they took the questions and comments that were articulated by the many community members in attendance under thoughtful consideration. From where I sat, in the front row, it was clear that several of the board members were moved by the passionate pleas and testimonies by Wellington School staff, parents, students, alumni and neighbors.
    Although the numbers presented by Superintendent Freve failed to demonstrate that closing Wellington would result in any overwhelming savings to the district without bringing student/teacher ratios at Houlton Elementary School to unacceptably high levels and resulting in excessively long bus rides for many young children, I believe that ultimately it was the solidarity demonstrated by the Wellington School community that influenced the school board to let the matter of closing the school rest for the time being. This type of community support and involvement underscores the importance of keeping our smaller, neighborhood schools open in the face of ever-increasing school consolidations. Closing the Wellington School and over-crowding HES would be to the detriment of all of the elementary school children in the district.
    In this day and age where many citizens have become disillusioned and detached from our democratic process, it is refreshing and encouraging to see elected officials not only actively engage with the public whom they serve, but to also take the concerns and wishes of the community members to heart before making important decisions which affect the lives of us all, especially our young children.
Frank Sullivan
Littleton