Voters deserve to be heard

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To the Editor:

It has come to my attention that the Oak Bluffs selectmen will be voting at their meeting on Tuesday, April 23, whether to approve a special town meeting about the expenditure of monies for a design for a new track, infield, press box, and grandstands. If the motion doesn’t pass, the voters will have no say in whether the measure goes through. It will automatically be enacted.

Oak Bluffs School committee representatives and town officials recently encouraged O.B. residents to oppose the MVRHS master plan feasibility because of the funding formula. However, this same funding formula applies to the track project. I am concerned that this inconsistency is going to undermine our argument at the negotiating table.

Additionally, given the overall conditions at MVRHS, including all the imminent expenditures needed to keep the building operational and then renovated and/or rebuilt, we must have a special town meeting to weigh the best way to proceed. And O.B. voters deserve to be heard. How this moves forward impacts every child (and taxpayer) on the Island. Our kids deserve forethought and fiscally responsible planning from their community.

Susan Desmarais
Oak Bluffs