A new group is arising out of Walpole to promote the override — Proposition 2 1/2 — which is scheduled to be voted on at the June 2nd town election. Determined parents and citizens of Walpole have come together and made a commitment to advocate for a successful override. Approximately 90% of the override money would be put into the school systems and the other 10% would go to municipal reforms. As for non-school needs, public safety, building maintenance and maintenance of grounds is among the group’s top priorities.  These residents of Walpole have formed and registered a political action group in which they titled “Walpole Pride.”  The ultimate goal of this new group is to maintain the educational services that citizens of Walpole have come to expect.

According to the group’s website and Facebook page, Walpole Pride is designed to be “a political action committee dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the quality of education at the Walpole Public Schools.”  According to Mrs. Gallivan, the Walpole Pride group began as a group of parents who were concerned about some of the things they were currently seeing in the Walpole Public Schools, like large class sizes and the inability to take a course that would benefit that student.  They became increasingly concerned when they heard that the quality of education would get worse without additional funding, and subsequently, the parents decided to work with the School Committee and Administration towards advocating for an override.

At the January 28th campaign meeting, the group met to discuss the goals.  To help organize this campaign, Boyden Elementary School parent Jonathan Bourn volunteered to be President of Walpole Pride, while Johnson Middle School parent Richard Laronde volunteered as Treasurer and Website Editor.  The group then went on to discuss what it would take to pass the override.  Expecting some opposition from the town, this pro-override group is determined to show that the override will benefit all Walpole citizens.

“[The override] is a win-win for absolutely everyone,” said Mr. Jonathan Bourn.  One of their biggest arguments discussed was that this override would not only restore some of the positions that have been cut, but the override would keep the schools competitive in terms of MCAS and other standardized testing scores. And if the test scores remain competitive, potential homebuyers would still view Walpole as a viable real estate option, among other options such as Strategic REI which stay true to their name. Walpole Pride believes that this override will benefit all homeowners in the town, not just the students and parents.

Mr. Bourn said, “[Since the last override] it’s been a decade, a decade of slow erosion over the entire district.”  The group then discussed how this decrease in the quality of education would continue without the successful override: more teachers would be cut, AP class offerings would be lowered, Foreign Language in Middle Schools would be cut, and elementary school class sizes — which already average 30 or more students in each— would increase even more.

An active member of the school committee and a founding member of the Walpole Pride group, Mrs. Nancy Gallivan said, “Our public schools have served our students well for many years and we want to give the same types of opportunities for the students currently in the system and for those that will follow in future years.” To achieve this goal, Walpole Pride is encouraging the people of Walpole to vote yes for this $3 million override.

The committee recently finalized its Facebook page and website, www.walpolepride.com.  Mrs. Gallivan said, “They hope [the website] will answer many questions and will increase awareness.”  Throughout the Spring, Walpole Pride is planning on hosting some large and small group events to raise awareness for the override.