There are a few things that the voters of Bridgewater should know.
First, of all the social institutions from which we should demand
excellence, schools top the list. Yet we tolerate their consistent failure
to convert huge financial inputs into adequate education outcomes. Too often
we hear of sharing out-of-date textbooks, teachers paying for basic supplies
with their own money, and classrooms lacking computers. Meanwhile many
administrators take home six-figure salaries with monthly car allowances.
The call continually goes out for more and more money, but when the
taxpayers respond generously, where does the money go? Too often, not to
classrooms, where it is needed most.
In the spirit of a business technique called ''best practices," the National
Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) has data that clearly states that
the average ''classroom spending" is 61.5 cents for every dollar of
operational budget. The ''classroom spending" is defined to include
teachers, textbooks, classroom supplies, special needs instruction, and
activities including athletics, music, and the arts. To date only four
states (Maine, New York, Tennessee, and Utah) spend 65 cents of their
budgets in classrooms. Arizona's Republican legislative leaders are
supporting a ballot referendum for the 65 cents requirement, and Minnesota's
Republican governor is calling for its immediate passage as a requirement
for education funding this year.
With this in mind, I took the proposed Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School
budget and calculated expenses. I asked an accountant to verify my findings.
We found that BR's proposed budget allocates only 52 cents of every dollar
for ''classroom spending," which is 9 1/2 cents below the national average
and 13 cents below the NCES goal. This proposed budget is unacceptable, as
the additional funding requested is obviously not ''for the children" as we
have been told every time the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School Committee
requested more funds.
It is time for the voters of Bridgewater to demand that the taxes being
allocated ''for the children" are actually spent ''for the children."
MILDRED E. HASSON
Bridgewater |
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