Editor:
On May 20, the voters in MSAD 71 will be asked to vote on the budget for 08/09. During the last eight years the school board and its administration have watched our elementary student population decrease by 23 percent, the result, our three newer schools are now operating at 68 percent of capacity.
A facilities committee presented trends in births and local development that confirmed continued drops in future enrollments. Losing 40 to 50 students per year, one could expect changes in both the utilization of staff and facilities to maximize education resources for all the children, instead, the efficient use of staff and facilities continues on a downward spiral. There are those who would argue that with fewer students we are able to provide a better education, one need only look at the results of the MEA scores for the district, all grades tested in the district just “meet standards” or average. We are a district where our children come from quality families, imagine what our education results would be with a quality program in the schools.
If you are satisfied with the quality of education our children are receiving, if drugs and discipline are not a problem, if you can absorb a 7.5 percent increase in your school taxes for the year (28 percent over the past four years), then ignore this letter. But if you want to get the message out that you are not happy with the results, the only way to get the school board’s attention is to reject the budget. Only then might they look at change.
Change, that looks, at goals for education, at the staff and facilities to meet those objectives, and more importantly at how and when the results are to be measured and met.
Edward Geoghan
Kennebunk