It's Crying Budget Time Again!

Somehow that old Buck Owens tune sticks in the mind. (You may be partial to the Ray Charles version.) The truth is, the schools must be funded, and one way or another, that funding comes from you, the taxpayer. Some may disagree, but most people recognize that the education of the young is an appropriate and proper function of civil society.

So, if we're all on the same page, where's the discussion? Well, there are a lot of judgment calls.

Roughly 80 to 85% of the budget is made up of salaries, mainly determined by contractual obligations. But we can still argue about staffing levels, administrative pay, and the cost of future pay and benefits.

We can debate the need for, and the effectiveness of, a number of programs, about special education and other services, and about resources devoted to "professional development."

We can talk about buildings, what we should be spending on maintenance, on upgrades, on major repairs.

And how about technology? We spend a lot on it. Is it being used effectively? Is the money well spent?

There's a budget informational meeting on May 24th, 7 pm, in the high school cafeteria. (The vote is on June 13 -- more info here.) These would all be appropriate questions for that meeting. They're also appropriate for this forum. Over the next few weeks we'll try to kick off some discussions here.

Back to the song...

I can tell by the way you hold me darling
That it won't be long before it'’s crying time