(Ed's note: The following was sent to the BOE and is printed here at the writer's request)

As you probably noticed, I was in the audience for the March 4 budget workshop, and found Dr. Gordon's presentation very distressing. The budget as presented has a 7.5 percent increase, and it is possible that the tax increase to homeowners can be as high as 10 percent. He portrayed the budget presented to the public as a "bare bones" budget with nothing left to cut. He went on to say that if any further cuts were to be made, it would mean cutting educational programs. He gave some examples such as the Frost Valley trip, driver ed, and foreign language in the elementary schools as prime candidates if further budget reductions were requested. Let me say that there are educational programs and "educational programs." Frost Valley and the Voyage of the Mimi remain in the budget and are given equal weight with foreign language and math. To insert these items in a budget when the economic impact on our community is so dire, show that this is no "bare bones" budget".

But the main issue here isn't whether we should cut out Frost Valley. It is the idea that when painful cuts are made, it is expected that the pain always fall on the taxpayers and our students. In private industry, there have been a great deal of layoffs during the past year. When companies do this, it is expected that the people who remain, have to do more work due to less staff. Raises are also sharply reduced or eliminated entirely. It is a given that the pain remains within the organization. They do not pass it along to their customers. Only in school systems is it the opposite. That is why I was offended when Dr. Gordon boasted that there were no reductions in staff. The school district continues to give out raises it cannot afford and makes no effort to reduce staff. This is not to suggest that we can eliminate teachers, but the concept of reducing administrative staff by attrition is not even considered. As it stands, the proposed budget seems to favor the organization over its customers.

The General Council would welcome the opportunity to have some people from our homeowner organizations work with the school district. Our hope is that community input can help make a budget that will give more consideration to the needs of the taxpayers and the students in these difficult times.

Jeffrey Oring

General Council of Homeowners

School District Committee Chair