And for the record, I am not a tax and spend liberal. I voted for Mitt Romney and Scott Brown. I like my taxes low and I want to see them spent wisely. Not subsidizing solar power companies and a welfare system that offers no incentive to work. I also fully support pension reform. The public sector must also adjust to the changing landscape. I am also not a fan of the teacher's unions and the tenure system. But that being said, at least with local taxes, you see the results. I have full faith in the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen, and the Town Meeting Members to spend our tax dollars wisely. But take a look where Shrewsbury ranks as far as property tax burden. Maybe the word frugal was a poor choice. One can be frugal without being cheap. Right now, we are being cheap. View Comment

Grandma and Mom also wanted good things for their children, the greatest asset we have as a community. Grandma and Mom wouldn't expect their kids to go a school where there isn't a principal present half of the time because she was split between two schools. I wouldn't call the Shrewsbury schools the "biggest and flashiest". Did you see Sherwood recently? It was a dump and needed to be replaced. And the State kicked in a large portion of the funding. How large do class sizes need to go? Tell me, when you own a home, do you maintain it? Do you get the furnace tuned up? Do you replace old broken appliances? Do you add a fresh coat of paint? The idea is that you invest so it maintains its value. A school system is no different. No one is asking for the biggest and the flashiest. They are asking for the town to fund the schools at a reasonable level. And I say reasonable compared to other cities and towns in the Commonwealth. View Comment

Let's continue to fund our schools on a level on par with wonderful places like Lawrence. See what that does to your home value in 5-10 years. Who do you think looks to buy a house Shrewsbury these days? Young families with school age children looking for a town with top rated schools. They aren't going to move to the town that makes headlines for high class size, shares a Principal between two schools, and annually falls on LOW end of school funding relative to its neighbors. Even with a relatively modest override, Shrewsbury would have a tax rate near the bottom of the state. I agree with fiscal responsibility. But fiscal responsibility does not always mean paying the least possible amount is the best approach. It's embarrassing to live in a town that is becoming infamous for it's frugality. View Comment