We have been having trouble setting a school budget — there isn’t anything left to cut. If we can’t make the budget smaller, we have to make the resources greater.

These arguments aren’t only about money. The bigger issue is the divide — the mindset of “us versus them,” that one side will “win” and one side will “lose.” This problem is larger than a dollar figure. We need to work together to solve this problem.

I propose the forming of a community workgroup to address larger issues in the Mt. Blue school district.

I propose a team made up of all stakeholders from the school and community. We can work together to find solutions that work for everyone. We can lobby Augusta for better school funding, hold fundraisers for tax relief, find and write grants. This would be an opportunity to build new relationships and allow groups that don’t typically intersect to learn from one another.

We aren’t talking with each other; we are talking at each other. We can’t continue to blame everyone else, that is hurting our community. We need to work together to find solutions.

I am looking for people who want to help solve problems. I don’t know what that entity would look like, how it would work or what goals would be set, but I am 100 percent willing to find out.

I pledge to work to make this better.

Tami Labul, Farmington School Board representative, RSU 9