Barnard Academy Discusses Merger Before VOTE
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Learn Before You Vote
There will be an important vote in Barnard on Tuesday, December 10th. The question; Do Barnard voters want to voluntarily merge Barnard Academy (our elementary school) with schools from 6 other towns and have minority representation on a multi-town governing board of 18 members?
Because of the great importance of the decision by Barnard voters, 2 of our local board members have held 3 informational meetings. The second meeting was filmed and is shown below. (The first meeting has an audio-only recording, here.)
Also, there was a recent meeting showing the operation of the 18 member multi-town merged school board. You can see a video of that meeting, here.
It's important that you fully understand the points presented by the board members AND also the questions and comments from the community members who attended. So, extra efforts have been taken so that you can watch the video in full OR click on the various topics that are listed below the video and jump directly to that topic.
Making tough decisions can be... well, tough. Judging from some comments at the informational meeting, that is certainly the case for some people. If you feel like I'm talking to you, then I've got something for you that might just help out. Here's a link to "A Short Guide to Tough Decisions". Try it out, it's been helpful (it's at the bottom of this page).
Most importantly, be sure you understand what's going on and then go and vote on Tuesday, December 10th.
See the LIST of TOPICS below the video.
CLICK on a TOPIC and JUMP directly to that part of the video.
A Short Guide to Tough Decisions
1. SIMPLIFY. Write down the most important issue on the "Pro" side and write the most important issue on the "Con" side. Never mind the other issues, just focus on the big ones on each side. Then ask yourself these 2 questions.
(a) How much does the Pro side help me?
A little or a lot?
(b) How much does the Con side hurt me?
A little or a lot?
From here, it's easy to decide. If something helps you a little but hurts you a lot; most people would take the Con side. If the situation is reversed; help a lot - hurt a little then, take the Pro side.
Next, continue to #2.
2. BALANCE AN EGG. Yes, you can balance an egg on it's tip IF everything is perfect. But is this a perfect world? Whatever decision you came to in step 1, ask yourself; Does everything have to be perfect to get the result I decided on?
So, if perfection is required to get the outcome you expect,
maybe you'll want to reconsider step 1. Otherwise, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise (and a cracked egg on the floor).
Next, continue to #3.
3. WHY IS THIS A QUESTION? If you are the one asking the question, then you know why you're asking it. But if someone else is asking the question you'll be deciding on, then ask yourself these 2 questions.
(a) Do they truly have my best interest in mind?
Yes or No?
(b) How do I really know that?
Write down your answer.
Next, continue to #4.
4. FUTURE REGRET. Regret is a tough thing to live with. This tip may help to keep away regret. Review your answers in steps 1 ,2, and 3. What decision are you leaning toward right now? Ask yourself these 3 questions.
(a) If I'm honest with myself, am I happy with that decision?
If No, then switch your decision.
(b) If I explained the reasons for my decision to my best friend, would I feel comfortable doing that?
If No, then switch your decision.
(c) If I explained the reasons for my decision to myself 1 year from now, would I feel comfortable doing that?
If No, then definitely switch your decision.