Dr. David Hopson
As we enter into the ‘traditional’ holiday season, we face a variety of challenges but also a compelling abundance of things to be thankful for. Even the idea of the holiday season brings a need for balance and thoughtfulness; after all, not everyone—even in the hilltowns—shares identical beliefs, values, and customs. Thus there is a need to balance various religious observances at this time of the year while also recognizing that other people observe no holidays or particular life events. This does not limit opportunities for individuals, even in school or at work, to celebrate their personal beliefs, but does mean that these observations have to be balanced against the rights of others who do not share similar beliefs. You can observe Gateway students participating in “Toys for Tots”, in the “Christmas for Children” program, and other opportunities to share with those in need. The district also provides venues for people to participate in holiday concerts, “Giving Trees”, the Senior Citizen Brunch, and other activities regularly found at this time of the year.
As I reflect on this past year in terms of budget development and approval, I’m thankful to have a budget in place that did not have a large negative impact on student opportunities. Yet I also see a challenge in developing a budget for the coming year that takes into consideration the needs of students, the increasing costs of running schools, and the desire by town officials to limit any increase in local taxes. The idea of a ‘level’ budget for the schools and all towns has been discussed and I’m sure will get more attention as we move forward, but this will certainly lead to some intense debate around financial decisions and how they impact everyone’s ability to meet the needs of their constituencies. In this world of statutory and regulatory requirements, it becomes more and more difficult to implement what many may believe is the correct solution to a specific problem while meeting federal and state mandates. Yet overall, as a society we appear to be better off than we would be without many of these government directives.
Despite the financial woes we hear about during the budget process, as a whole we’re better off than many other areas in the United States given that 21 states have higher unemployment rates, 45 states have a lower median family income, and the hilltown with the highest poverty rate is still below that of Westfield, and far below that of Springfield.
Despite the often quoted misgivings about government and its edicts, the reality is that U.S. citizens enjoy a quality of life much higher than many in the world. Consider for example that 80% of the world lives in substandard housing, 16% cannot read or write, 50% are malnourished with 1% dying of starvation, 33% have no access to a safe water supply, 39% have no access to improved sanitation, and 24% have no electricity. If we look at individual wealth and education, only 1% of the world has a college education, 48% live on less than 2 US dollars per day (and 20% live on less than 1 US dollar per day), and only 8% have any access to the Internet. From another perspective, even with all of the limits our government sets, if we were a world of only 100 people, 5 individuals would control 32% of the world’s wealth and they would all be US citizens (Family Care Foundation).
This is not to say that individuals and their families in the hilltowns don’t face physical, mental, and financial challenges and losses that may be difficult for most of us to imagine. I do hope that this places the smaller challenges that the majority of us face in perspective and provides the opportunity for each of us to reflect upon our blessings as we celebrate the holidays, especially the most “American” holiday of Thanksgiving. I also hope that these facts give us pause as we consider what we can do to help those in need whether from fiscal, mental, physical, or other challenges. US citizens have stepped up to the plate in the past and more recently with the typhoon in the Philippines, the Tornados in the Midwest, and the amount of time and money US citizens provide to alleviate suffering. This all comes from individuals, and is the basis of all that we do in a Government as Lincoln said “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
