Stay Informed and Vote Just after Town Meeting Day, Alison Novak reported on the unusually large number of school budgets that didn't pass muster with the voters ["Vermont Voters Reject School Budgets in 29 Districts," March 6]. This, as we all know, was driven by another unusually large number: the increase in property tax rates, which was largely driven by school budgets. Shortly thereafter, a small group of longtime school board members — most former, one current — decided to start a grassroots effort to clear up some of the misinformation, and lack of information, surrounding use of tax dollars for education in Vermont. We call ourselves Friends of Vermont Public Education, and our mission statement is clear — that any institutions using public monies must comply with the Vermont Constitution and be transparent about how those tax dollars are spent. Friends sent a three-question survey to Vermont candidates for legislature regarding the use of public funds for private schools. You can find candidate responses at savevtpubliced.org. See where your candidates stand, or if they didn't respond to our survey, ask them why not. Late in the last session, our legislature drafted a statute to form the Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont to look at how we could provide education, and how we could fund it, differently. We at Friends have been following the work of this commission and will continue to do so. The early focus is on property tax relief, but that can and must go hand in hand with student achievement in the long haul. Please stay informed, and vote. Ken Fredette Wallingford Pro Police Disappointed to see Seven Days' take on the police oversight board ["Déjà Vote: Burlington's Police Oversight Proposal Gets Support From Councilors — and Pushback From Cops," October 16]. It's not only the police department, as your article suggests, but many people who oppose this proposal. To use Burlington City Council President Ben Traverse's analogy, it's like putting all of your effort, time and money into putting snow tires on a car in Virginia when the AC is broken and the engine won't start. Our police department needs us to demonstrate our support. Whether the independent oversight board is rarely used is not the issue; it's the statement it makes about how our community feels about policing. Coming on the heels of the city council's disastrous decision to defund…