Bristol County Daily News

I've been thinking about the school budget a lot. I can't help but think about the shoe being on the other foot. This is what I mean. I know that my mother and father are getting older and my sisters and I have talked quit a bite about how we will take care of them when they can no longer take care of themselves. We keep saying how we never want to put them in a home that it would be awful. They have dedicated their lives to making our lives so much better. They deserve the best of care. The best retirement. We want them to enjoy their golden years. I just hope we can afford the cost. The average skilled care nursing home in 2007 is $74,000.00 per year and assisted living facilities are $35,000.00 per year. So when I retire in 30 years what do you think the cost will be. I sure hope my children think as much of my care as I do of my parents. I hope they don't think I was cheap in there education and didn't want to spend the money and in turn would do the same with my care. So my thinking is this we spend about $9000. per student per year to run our school. http://www.doe.mass.edu/ So lets say we cut our school systems and cut our children's services, close two schools and combine the schools so there will be about 35 students in each small classroom with one teacher and a part-time teaching assistant and if we are lucky a parent volunteer. We cut the physical Education, the Art, the Music all the after school programs, field trips and make them pay for busing, and after school sports. We cut it down to say $8,000 per student and children go to elementary school for 13 years simple math 8,000 time 13 is 104,000.00 but we know there will be an increase so lets round $120,000 over 13 years. Now skilled care at 75,000. for 13 years oh why bother 2 years of skilled care is more then 13 years of elementary school. Do you think our under educated, cramped classrooms with angry teachers if we have any willing to stay I don't think they will be top of the line. the best teachers will leave to a school system that has job security. Will give our children the education they need in order to cover the cost of caring for us when we need it? So buy your cardboard box now because that's where you'll be living. Then again we could fight for our schools. My choice is to fight for our children's education now. Get involved get the message out. Get your voice heard. Keep talking until people start to listen. http://www.dartmouth.k12.ma.us/budget/index.shtml http://www.house.gov http://www.senate.gov Governer Deval Patrick http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3utilities&sid=Agov3&U=Agov3_contact_us

Labels: school budget

It never seems to fail that when things starting getting bad the bottom falls out and then we say I t can't get much worse then we fall off a cliff. So I started talking about the school budget and that we just don't pay enough attention. then a note came home from the PTO with dates for 6 more meetings none of which I think we have much say on what goes on. It just seems that the Town Government will make all the decisions and we will stand to argue but I just cant see how we can change what is going to happen next year. They are talking about closing two schools. They have postponed kindergarten orientation because they don't know where the children will be going next year. So between now and June 5Th we will all be discussing what comes next. See the real question isn't is something going to happen, its what is going to happen because the fact of the matter is that something is going to happen. I want my children to have the best education they can get. Wait I want all children to get the best education they can get. These are the children then when we are old and grey will be making decisions to take care of us. Should they cut the budget to care for themselves and put forty of us in one room with one care giver for 8 hours a day. Forget bingo or day trips. Individual therapy HA HA. imagine if our elderly housing was budgeted like our schools are? Maybe we should think about that. We are putting our children at risk. How could a teacher teach when they will be refereeing. If one or two children act out ( I know that's hard to believe) so the teacher has to stop teaching to get them into check and that will take about 5 or 10 minutes so if there are 40 children and lets say each acts out once during the day that's 400 minutes 60 minutes in and hour so that's 6 hours and 40 minutes of refereeing oh wait school starts at 9am and lets out at 3:20 that's only 6 hours and 20 minutes. So how much teaching did we get done ... NONE. right now there are about 20 children to each class I know it sounds crazy but with just 20 children it is hard enough but could you imagine doubling the class size! We need to think outside the box we need to bend the rules to make this work. I am surely willing to contribute to the school my time, energy or financially. Can i volunteer to be the art teacher? or home economics ? Will the unions allow this?I don't know what we should do but maybe we can all make hundreds of suggestion and come out with some good ones. If you have an idea no matter how simple it seems write it down and send it to the school board. Sometimes someone else's ideas spark thoughts in another and get the ball rolling the next thing you know we have a solution. Come on roll the ball!!!

Labels: school budget