I am sharing the letter I wrote to the School Committee.
We have two kids at Edith C. Baker School and the news about the budget shortfall and the proposed response is dismaying to say the least.
The proposed cuts to music, sports and teaching are profoundly misguided. These are essential for the growth and well-being of the town’s children. Meanwhile, you are preserving six-figure salaries for bureaucrats who contribute little to the classroom.This is a betrayal of the mission of public education.
Some 7,000 Brookline students should not be forced to accept a diminished educational experience just so a handful of overpaid administrators can keep their cushy, unaccountable jobs.
Budget cuts should begin at the top, with administrative redundancy, bloated salaries, inefficiencies in non-instructional spending. Shouldn’t this be common sense?
Eliminating music and sports disproportionately harms families who cannot afford private programs, deepening inequities within our schools.
I appreciate the members who have already spoken out against these cuts.
I urge the rest of the committee to join them in protecting the integrity of our schools by prioritizing students over administrative excess.