Laura Jordan’s letter speaks volumes

I am writing to encourage the three members of the School Committee who voted in favor of eliminating the entire Latin program in the upcoming budget to re-read the letter posted in this newspaper by Laura Jordan on March 20th who argues for the retention of teaching Latin in Norwood schools. I also believe it would be a grave mistake to take this action and some of Norwood students would have their education severely damaged by such a reckless act.

When I was in school I studied French, Spanish and Latin. I did not enjoy French or Spanish but somehow with Latin it was different.

As Jordan points out "Latin students can better understand the vocabulary and grammar of English better than any of our English Arts classes can offer. A case in point. I learned in Latin that it was never considered proper grammar to end a sentence with a preposition and over the years I was sometimes near bewildered by the number of professional writers who seemed to break this rule on a regular basis. Allow me to emphasize I learned about prepositions in Latin not English. I think it's safe to say that anyone that studies Latin will be a better writer than they otherwise might have been and so I ask the question how important is it for any individual to write effectively in any career? During my working years I must admit I was often favorably impressed by lawyers who had the ability to use Latin phrases in their letters to bolster their arguments. Ex Post Facto, Ipso facto and non sequitur were three of my favorites.

I know of a student who did poorly in high school Spanish and later decided to study Latin in college. This student graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a Latin minor as part of his degree. Kids that were looking to fulfill a language requirement were usually unlikely to pick Latin since it had a reputation for being a rigorous course of study. Oh' the irony. How does this happen? I think the answer can be found in Jordan's letter. Go back and take a look.

Jordan also makes the point that Norwood is fortunate to have two "shiny" new schools, but the acid test for any school is what's going on in the Halls. My fear is that if the Norwood School Department drops Latin from its curriculum it will never be a Tier one institution. Yes, It's that important.

Let me conclude by telling you why I constantly refer the reader to Jordan's letter. The reason is simple; her letter is a lot better than mine. She is a Latin scholar. I was a very average Latin student. I would like to end by thanking Mr. Mombouqette and Mr. Dehler, our Latin teachers at NHS for putting up with me. They were both outstanding teachers. A good teacher can be like a divine intervention into a kid’s life. Trust me, I know. One final fun fact about Latin if you're still with me: I believe our former principal, 'Mr. Charles Hayden, was a Latin major in college and he sounded like it every time he spoke.

I have a hard time believing that anyone that ever studied Latin would vote to cut it from the curriculum.

Richie Armour

Naples,Florida

Norwood Light requests clarifications

To the Editor:

I’m writing on behalf of the Norwood Light Department regarding the report in this week’s Norwood Record (3/27/2025) on our FY-26 Budget request. We understand that it was a long meeting with a lot of information presented! We are requesting that the Record write a clarification in next week’s edition to provide Norwood residents with more accurate information.

Under the “Light Increase” headline, this is the incorrect information contained in the article in this week’s paper:

“Also at the meeting, the Board heard from the Norwood Light/ Broadband Department, which is requesting a budget increase of $8 million, or .36 percent of the total budget. Norwood Light Kevin Shaughnessy said new borrowing and rising healthcare costs are cause for the increase, but added they are offset by reductions in salary costs, cable programming fees and existing debt service.”

Under the “Light Increase” headline, this is the incorrect information contained in the article in this week’s paper:

Clarifications: The presentation was actually being made to the members in their roles as Light Commissioners, not as Selectmen. Kevin Shaughnessy is the Norwood Municipal Light Department (NMLD)Superintendent. Overall, NMLD requested a DECREASE of almost $100k.

Electric Division of Norwood Municipal Light Department: The Electric Division budget is decreasing by $122,459. This is a decrease of .20% from Electric’s overall FY-25 budget. Electricity and healthcare costs are increasing, but a decrease in debt service is offsetting those increases.

Broadband Division of Norwood Municipal Light Department: The Broadband Division budget is increasing very slightly by $28,916. This is an increase of .36% from Broadband’s overall FY-25 budget. Healthcare costs are increasing (a town-wide issue), but cable programming costs are decreasing (due to customers switching to streaming services) and that decrease is offsetting the healthcare increase somewhat.

Sue Bartlett

Norwood Municipal Light Department

Thinking about dad

To the Editor:

I was thinking about my Dad today and did an Internet search. Up came Matt MacDonald’s feature, “Bill St. Laurent: a life celebrated.” It was the first time I had seen the article.

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If you are still in contact with Mr. MacDonald, please extend my deepest appreciation. Matt did a fine job capturing the essence of my father’s professional career, and I am most grateful. He took the time to interview others besides Nancy, and his selection was well considered. And a special thank–you to the editor who provided the prominent placement.

The Norwood Record is a lovely local paper, and I am pleased to see it is still in print — and free, which is no small feat. I worked from 1993 – 2001 for the East Mountain Telegraph in New Mexico, lastly as news and features editor, so I have intimate understanding of the challenges you face.

In closing, I would like to say, “Well done!”

Susan St. Laurent Powell

Another override discussion?

To the Editor:

I have recently seen the term "Override" in this paper on more than one occasion. I wonder how or why it could even be an option. It would be the third override in a short time, the first an over 6 million dollar override (one of the largest increases of any Town or City in the State in over 40 years) in 2017. Then the New Middle School. Last year, the Town of Norwood had over 24 million dollars in "Free Cash" (money available at the end of fiscal year, ending 6/30/2024).

Now, NPS was initially looking for an 8.1% increase for the 2026 budget! This pace of spending is unsustainable! Seems to me, the Town Manager, Board of Selectmen, School Superintendent and Committee, BBC, Fin Com, and many others are not in communication with each other. I don't hear of too many new ideas. Each department does their own thing. The single family home, owner occupied, will continue to pay.  There will not be many more single family homes going up, but your taxes will, again.

Ed Lynch

Norwood