Letter to the Editor: Support O'Donoghue, Robitaille, Goldhar for New Trier School Board

Letter submitted by Chuck Hirsch.

Dear Editor,

Many of the issues being raised leading up to the April 5 New Trier School Board election essentially are focused on one central theme:

• What are the highest priorities of our school district?
• Are high achieving academic outcomes of utmost importance?
• Is broad student participation in co-curricular programs a worthy measure of success?
• Are a wide range of athletics being offered to all interested students of different ability levels?
• Does the District's recent expenditure of more than $100 million to improve facilities and technology reinforce its sustained commitment to     state-of-the-art physical resources?

Most fair-minded voters would agree the foregoing objectives are being met by New Trier and account for the well deserved national reputation it has earned.  There has been little room for complacency, and the ongoing strategic planning initiatives are continuing to prepare the District for educational opportunities ahead.

Given this record of accomplishment, it is hard to understand the discontent expressed by some regarding last year's decisive vote against  the $174 million bond issue. As a former three-term school board member (including New Trier for which I strongly supported the last successful tax rate referendum), I am mystified by those backing the Caucus slate in the hope of resurrecting another outsized building project.

After hearing all six candidates speak and explain their approaches to shaping board policy, I can enthusiastically endorse the nominees running under the ORG banner: Pat O'Donoghue, Greg Robitaille and Dr. Joel Goldhar.  Each is committed to both academic excellence AND fiscal responsibility... values that will assure the important objectives noted earlier can be attained in the future.  Our community can afford nothing less, which is why our votes will matter more than ever in this election.

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