How much is it going to cost the taxpayers of this town to maintain the status quo of our schools? What will it take to keep our current class sizes and rich educational program? Some members of the school board, indeed, a majority, feel the answer is around $65 million. But not its president, Richard Sussman.

Richard thinks we can keep the status quo by spending much less. But that is just fiction, poor math, and the stuff that dreams are made of. The problem is, you might be tempted to believe him.

It is unfortunate that Richard is taking this approach. He claims to be working for the children of this community, but his actions over the past several years have been anything but supportive of the professionals of our district, his current colleagues and the taxpayers. He continually shouts down his opponents during board meetings. He can tell convincing stories and twist the facts. Just look at his fictional plan from last year as a good case in point.

Our school administrators, current architects, and construction managers have done a tremendous job bringing down costs and putting together a workable proposal that costs less than last year. They agree that further reductions will only harm the program.

A $65 million bond won't build palaces but it will get us some sorely needed space. And we save some money, given that bond lending rates have gone down in the last year. This figure is still a saving of more than $20 million from last year's proposal.

It is time for Richard to face the facts and work to pass this bond.

David Strom and Lisa Rowland

Greg and Bonita Utzig

David and Beth Horn

Laura Mogul

Marjy Fisher

Gary Sher