Stoneham's woes

Can you imagine preparing for a Sunday open house at the four-bedroom colonial you’ve had on the market for months and then picking up Saturday’s Globe and seeing on the front page that your town, Stoneham, has just cut all public school athletic programs?

The story is a case study of the interconnected woes that beset local government in 2007. MCAS and No Child Left Behind put a premium on teaching the basics, so music, art, and sports become luxury items that are jettisoned when fiscal times get tough. With local voters paying $3 per gallon for gas and watching the monthly payment on their adjustable rate mortgages go up while the value of their homes go down, few are sympathetic to overrides. Of course, without enrichment programs in the public schools, the town will become a less attractive place to live, driving home prices – and tax revenue to the town – down even more. I’m not a resident of Stoneham, but I suspect the problems that have descended on the town are not unique. Who might be next?