Do you remember the Sonny and Cher song, “The Beat Goes On?” At the last Auburn school budget vote, a beat was skipped and a large murmuring was detected - that being a significant percentage of the voting public. A congenital defect in the financing of public education was further exposed and expressed in various letters to the editor.

I just wish to reemphasize that our challenges are much more than local with unfunded mandates and contractual obligations diminishing the influence local school board members, officials and the public-at-large have on our budgets. This pressures us to make Solomon-like decisions pertaining to academics, curriculum, sports, etc.

In reference to the aforementioned, I will vote “no” June 17, with the hope that some day (however distant) the feverish vise grip that Albany and its cohorts have on education and school choice will be broken and that a new dynamic will emerge marked by increased value (not cheapness) and a sustainable allocation of resources for a vastly improved education system.

Thomas N. Longley

Auburn