The debate over the use of the Connect-Ed system to deliver a message with respect to the recent override vote has so far centered on the appropriateness of the language used by the School Committee chairman in his “get out the vote” message. State law has been interpreted to allow the use of public resources for such neutral messages.
However, the use of Connect-Ed itself in this context fails the neutrality test. The Connect-Ed system, by its nature, only contacts the households of children attending the Harvard Public Schools. As such, it targets even a neutral get-out-the-vote message to those households most likely to vote in favor of the override. There was no comparable attempt to reach nonschool households with this message, and therefore the delivery of the message was not neutral. The use of Connect-Ed to selectively get out the vote was clearly a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the law.
If this was not clear to the chairman, it should have been clear to the superintendent, who has yet again failed his committee in allowing this resource to be politicized. Once more, voters have been exposed to a school leadership that views its primary role as boosters for school funding rather than fiduciary custodians of an education system.
The Connect-Ed system is a useful tool to inform school parents about school operations. Its use should be limited to those tasks.
Bill Marinelli
Stow Road
