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