An E-mail I received...

This is a cut and paste of an e-mail I received from Frank Moore, who has had kids in both the Charter and the public schools, and whose family was one of the founding families of the Charter Schools. He has allowed me to reproduce it; these are his views and he asked for them to made public.

Here is why I am still going to Bullet just Bruce Menin for Newburyport School Committee

I think it is critically important to have someone like Bruce Menin continue to serve on the school committee. Even though I can cast up to 3 votes for School Committee, having Bruce continue to serve is so important to me, that I have decided to cast just a single “bullet” vote for Bruce to maximize his chances. Other people who are supporting Bruce should consider the same course of action. As demonstrated earlier this year during all the shouting over the override, being on the Newburyport School Committee can indeed be a thankless job. Because of this, I really do applaud the other five school committee candidates for their willingness to sign up for all of this including the long meetings and to potentially get their unfair share of abuse from constituents.

I am also sorry to lose existing School Committee Members Mark Wright and Andrea Jones, who served very admirably but chose not to run for re-election.

Here are some specifics about why I am voting for Bruce:

· Bruce has really contributed significantly to opening up what had been historically a very closed door school committee. In years past there really were 2-3 power brokers who worked very deliberately to ice everyone else out of the process. His blog has also contributed significantly to the keeping people informed about what is happening in the schools.

· On an issue that impacts me personally, Bruce has a clearly articulated position on the River Valley Charter School that you can read on his blog. In addition he contributed significantly in promoting a civil dialog to share ideas between the Charter School Board of Trustee’s and the School Committee. Previous Newburyport School Committees had a history of sending less than civil communications on official letter head to the Charter School Administration and board.

· Bruce has been a strong voice for the children in all of this discourse concerning the Newburyport Public Schools. This includes supporting efforts to get more funding injected into the school’s budget.

· Bruce along with the other members of the school committee, made an excellent choice in bringing in Dr. Lyons to lead the Newburyport public schools.

· Bruce and other members of the current school committee in my view were unfairly attacked by many people on both sides of the proposition 2-1/2 debt exclusion measure to fund the schools. What was particularly troubling to me was the criticism levied against the school committee by my fellow supporters of the override. The best way for me show my disdain for this kind of behavior is to exercise my civic right to vote.

· I either have enough information, or in many cases too little information about the other Newburyport School Committee candidates to make an informed decision. A public forum would have contributed here and I am disappointed that the candidates for school committee were not able to participate in public forum prior to the election.

Finally Bruce along with some others is working hard to promote a civil dialog in the ongoing discussions between the school committee and the city council concerning the future of the Newburyport schools. To be clear, I do not see eye to eye with Bruce on every issue (including some of his preferences for the other election contests) but I think you can count on him to work towards compromise and more importantly civil discourse with those who disagree with him.

Given what we all suffered through last year this kind of civil discourse is what this city desperately needs.

Frank Moore
Walnut Street

(please note the above statements represent just my individual view, and not that of my spouse nor any other organized group or individuals)

Frank is right, we haven't always agreed. But when you bring respect to the table, and a willingness to listen, all things are possible. I believe in a reality-based world view, and action that is pragmatic and respectful.

I am grateful for the support expressed by Mr. Moore, and many others during the campaign. I have gotten a lot of feedback, some of it unsettling, all of it genuine; and regardless of the outcome of the election, I will be a better public servant for it.