Dear Editor,
I am as guilty as anyone (maybe more) of getting lost in the weeds of arguments over the pros and cons of the bond referendum on October 6. I am trying hard to take a step back, consider what really matters to me in this discussion, and why I am a “YES” vote.
Here is where I began: 1) While I was a parent in the district for 19 years, it has been 19 years since my youngest graduated. I have no direct connection to the schools either now or in the future; 2) If I have no direct connection to the schools, why do I care?
I thought for a long time about that question. The answer I came up with surprised me, I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s in a small town that had a palpable sense of community responsibility. The previous generation (the “greatest generation”) had fought World War II to make the world safe for my generation, and for generations to follow.
If we do not devote the best we have to preparing the children of our community for the future, where does the future lead? Do we trust one another enough to make the kind of commitment to ensure we pass on the advantages that previous generations gave us? My hope is that each of us has that capacity.
For all the noise, all the acrimony, I believe in the future of Cherry Hill. This is why I am a “YES” vote.
Andrew McIlvaine
Cherry Hill
