Now more than ever, it’s important to have people on the Augusta School Board who support education. We need leaders who support our students, their families, our staff and our teachers. 

Those who demand we reduce the quality of education in Augusta seem not to understand macroeconomics and the interconnectedness of school budgets, city services, police budgets, real estate and local sales tax revenue sharing. Or they don’t care.

The much-discussed Augusta property reevaluation is not raising everyone’s taxes. It will raise taxes on properties that have increased in value, and it will decrease taxes on properties that have depreciated. And, according to the city, the mill rate will likely go down. That’s math, even though certain elected officials have fanned the fears of taxes to support their own anti-government agenda. 

Meanwhile, Gabi Bérubé Pierce believes “public schools work best when students and parents are safe and engaged in their school community, educators are supported and recognized as the professionals they are, and our schools are appropriately resourced with the kind of funding that reflects the reality that elementary and secondary education is the foundation of our economy.”

On June 9, we have a chance to stand up for education and common sense; we can vote for Gabi Bérubé Pierce for the Augusta School Board.

Tom Keefe
Augusta