As I drive around town and see the “Support Everyone” signs in Hopkinton, I hope that truly is what you mean.
After the last budget proposal failure, the school board is discussing draconian cuts to our schools. Parents fret about cuts to math, English, and more, but the students themselves have yet another concern: sports. These kids have already lost a spring season to a pandemic, now they face even more uncertainty.
Can you imagine what these athletes are going through? Not only do hear the daily news and wonder if they will be allowed back in school, see their friends or play on sports teams, now they also have to wonder if they will even be allowed to field a team?
Board discussions have suggested cuts to middle school athletics, football, golf, alpine, and junior varsity. All of these programs are in a state of limbo until a budget is passed; this uncertainty trickles down to hundreds of middle and high school students who wonder if their sport will be a casualty. Where is the support for them?
As you look at the sign on your lawn, please think of the kids in this community. If you really do support everyone, keep the sign up and support a budget that doesn’t affect their programs. If, however, your goal is to reduce taxes period, whatever the consequences, then your sign should reflect that. Don’t fool yourself: Cutting the school budget and our athletic programs in no way “supports everyone.”
DAN MESERVE
Hopkinton