To The Telegram:
Everyone should know by now that our schools are in financial trouble. A number of school districts in the area have held referenda recently to try to break through the funding caps that have held them down for more than 10 years, and most of those referenda have failed. Consequently, reductions have had to be made in staff and curriculum, schools have been closed and extra-curricular programs have been cut or reduced.
In spite of this situation, our schools are still in the top tier nationally, and we are and should be proud of them. But there is serious trouble on the horizon.
The current state funding formula, which was intended to "equalize" school spending, has had the effect of punishing districts that have been historically frugal, locking them in to taxing and spending levels of 10 years ago, despite rising costs. Our enrollments as well as the funds we get from the state and federal governments have been shrinking as mandated requirements have been growing.
The state funding is tied to property values, which are being skewed by the increases in vacation homes and lake frontage. The system looks at our districts, sees that those property values are rising, and cuts our state aid accordingly. We appear to be rich when we are not.
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The disparities between what different districts actually receive in state aid is crazy, and the districts that are getting significantly more are not surprisingly less than eager to change the system -- or at least their legislators are.
There are a lot of people out there who talk like experts, who say that the idea of the small town school is dead and we must consolidate for efficiency's sake, or that we must cut out the "frills" in the curriculum -- cut out music and/or sports and concentrate on math and science, increase class sizes, or forego the four-year-old kindergarten.
There are many such suggestions, but they seldom come from people who actually spend time in our schools, who know and care about our students.
There is little that a society does that is more important than educating its young people. In an increasingly competitive global economy, they need increasingly more knowledge and experience.
We must not let down our kids.
-- John Smart, member Park Falls Board of Education
Park Falls
