LETTER: ‘If You Give a Voter a School Referendum…’

From Julie Lichtenstein, Robbinsville
One of my all time favorite children’s books is “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” The book chronicles the adventures of a mouse and all of the subsequent events that happen if you give the mouse a cookie. A failed Robbinsville school expansion referendum will set off a chain reaction within our school system and town that will have significant negative consequences to every resident here.
If this referendum fails … our schools will require additional modular classrooms. The set-up costs exceed $300,000 and the subsequent yearly operating costs exceed $100,000. If we need to spend $300,000 for setting up new modulars, the administration needs $300,000 out of its existing operating budget. As a result, certain programming will be eliminated (this could be a combination of academic and extracurricular activities, AP classes, JV/freshman sports, etc).
If this referendum fails … we will continue to not have adequate classroom space. As a result, our class sizes will continue to rise as the administration is forced to squeeze more students into existing space. Those requiring special services or small group instruction will continue to be forced to operate out of closets and other inappropriate learning environments. Art will remain on a cart, music will remain in the hallways, PE will continue with four classes simultaneously, etc.
If this referendum fails … our administration will be forced to spend operating dollars on those repairs that are deemed immediate and necessary due to some areas of the Sharon School building being 50-plus years old.
If this referendum fails … our administration will not have the means to create an academically competitive learning environment that rivals surrounding schools in our district factor group. As a result, home-shoppers will not deem Robbinsville an ideal place to raise their families. As a result, our home values drop significantly.
If this referendum fails … it will send a clear message to the community at-large that our town is not willing to invest in our children and their future. As a result, we will have a difficult time recruiting quality teachers to our schools. As a result, our children will be less prepared for the demands of a four-year college education.
If this referendum fails … we will eradicate the rise in reputation that our town has gained since opening its high school program in 2004.
On the other hand, we can improve the welfare of our community by saying “yes.” If this referendum PASSES, we will show our children that we believe in their future and that we want them to have the best education possible. Our town will see the positive domino effect that it will have, which includes: attracting and retaining quality teachers, appropriately sized and maintained facilities, proper class size, and a renewed focus on the curriculum for all grades.
To date, our administration has had to focus their time and energy on figuring out where to squeeze the next group of children and on how they are going to pay for immediate and necessary repairs on an aging building. With a PASSED referendum, the administration can return the focus of their attention to providing our children with the best education possible.
So just as you have to think through the consequences “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” please think carefully over the consequences of your vote on Dec. 11. Vote “yes” and you will secure not only our town’s reputation for a quality school system, but your home value as well. 
Julie Lichtenstein 
Robbinsville 