Save Money by Supporting Schools

For the last three years Holliston has been cutting back on education expenses.  Indeed, for the last 9 years the school budget has effectively dropped .5% after inflation.  We've trimmed 10% of the school workforce, added fees for nearly every sport and activity across the district, frozen senior administration salaries, added a fee for taking the bus to school, slashed textbook and supply budgets, and more. 

Holliston is a lovely, old town with precious few stoplights, lots of open space, a lake, and a cute town center.  But it has almost no industry.  And it's a 1 hour drive -- on a good day -- to get into Boston for a job.  The lack of industrial property taxes puts a bigger burden on residential property taxes for town revenues.  That's the tax structure.  Unless and until more businesses move to town -- a long term goal the Board of Selectmen should focus on -- we have to fund the schools with residential property taxes.

Property values have dropped 7-8% in the last few years so tax revenue is lower.  Federal and State aid to Holliston is down $900K for FY10.  If our response is to slash another 20 teachers, kill the school play, gut the lower schools of paraprofessional support, hike sports fees, cut the 4th grade band, and go forward with all the other cuts that only a prop 2-1/2 override can save now, we degrade the town's primary asset -- our schools, ranked in the top quintile of 150 Mass schools by Boston Magazine.  When we degrade our schools, we degrade the #1 asset of homeowners in Holliston...our homes.

"Support Holliston" doesn't want to just raise taxes; we want to save homeowners money by preserving the town's crown jewel.

Respectfully,

Paul Gillespie

President, Support Holliston

617-721-0178