Tuesday is an important day for our community- it is voting day!  I’ve talked to many people who are unsure about whether or not they will take the time to vote.  “I’m really not political,” they’ll say.  Some let me know they are just too busy to stand in line to vote.  I get it.  Politics today are nasty; who isn’t tired of hearing politicians point fingers and blame each other while nothing gets done!?  And our busy lives!  I remember well the elementary school years.  My husband Jeff and I had to make charts showing where our two children needed to be on any given day, and writing down who was going to ferry them to their various activities.  When Megan and Adam were little, there were no cell phones!  Imagine that.  Thank goodness Fairfax is a small town and others helped to pick up the pieces when mom and dad got their wires crossed and left the kids waiting at school!

Still, I can’t think of anything that is more important than the vote you are being asked to cast on Tuesday.  “Politics” may be a nasty business, but at the local level your volunteer School Board members have worked incredibly hard with the administration to craft a budget that respects the pressure imposed by property taxes while still allowing us to provide a quality education.  Colchester has low per pupil cost, but high test scores.  The Board included NOTHING new in this budget; we will be able to maintain what we have with the proposed budget, but nothing new was added.

Whether you support the proposed budget or not, I ask that you make time to cast your ballot.  I am passionately patriotic and believe democracy is the greatest form of government in all of history.  Democracy only works when people participate.  If we want to continue a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” we have to vote.  Its a privilege, a right, and a responsibility for each of us as citizens of the greatest country on Earth.  Please, vote on Tuesday!