March 29, 2024

Thoughts from a Retired Teacher on the July 17th Vote

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About sixty years ago, Dorothy Beckwith invited the first woman judge in Massachusetts to speak at the graduation ceremony for ninth graders as they left Anawan School for the great unknown. The judge began by saying that when she got the invitation, she had never heard of Rehoboth, didn’t know anything about it, wasn’t even sure where it was. So she had had to do some research. (She probably didn’t google it.) She had learned that it purported to be the birthplace of public education in the United States and that it was predominantly a farming community with little to no industry. She had also learned that it had one of the highest rates of per student spending in the state. She went on to congratulate the farmers and other residents of the town for realizing the importance of education and for supporting their schools and their youngest citizens. I was there and, now, well into my seventies, it remains one of my most vivid memories.

Moving forward in time, I was a first year teacher at Palmer River School. I could have gone to positions in other school systems, but the words of that judge stuck in my mind. That was the kind of community I wanted to be a part of. My starting pay was $ 5,100 per year, gross. At midyear, the school committee announced an across the board one hundred dollar a year raise for all its teachers, “in appreciation for all you do for our children.” That phrase, that commitment from my community never left my mind. I worked at PRES for thirty-four years trying to be worthy of that one hundred dollars.
Now we are in 2018. I am retired, on a fixed income. If the legislature votes it in, I and other retirees in the Massachusetts system will receive up to a $ 390 increase in our pensions. I do not receive my medical insurance from the town. As a former teacher, I do not qualify for Social Security. Rather, my husband, also in his mid-seventies, works part time to pay for our insurance. We no longer have children or grandchildren in this community or its schools. And yet, I will vote for that override in July.

For too long we have avoided our responsibilities. We have allowed our facilities to deteriorate to the point of embarrassment and endangerment. As a carpenter’s daughter, I can state this without a doubt. We are allowing rumor and innuendo to take hold and frighten our citizens from students to seniors. There are those who would have us believe that fiscal irresponsibility of the school committee and administration is the cause of the current problem. This ignores the fact that state and federal governments, not our school department, often dictate where, when, and how the school monies are to be spent without providing funds to meet their demands. This ignores the fact that costs of fuel, insurance, transportation are going up for everyone including our local government and schools and we have not been willing to share the blame or responsibility. This ignores the fact that the monies raised by the override goes to other Rehoboth departments, not just to the school department.

No one wants to see an increase in their tax bill. We have avoided big increases for quite some time. But now we are being asked to pass an override and increase our spending because we have ignored the problem for too long. The very real threat to staff, many our fellow town residents, with job loss is a long way from saying thank you for all you do for our children. The understanding that we have a responsibility to our schools and our children and thus to ourselves has somehow disappeared. This is not a Save our Schools matter. It is a Save our Town matter. I am concerned and sorrowed that I have lived so long that I have witnessed the loss of community in my hometown.

Janice Hagar Rogala

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