Category Archives: referendum

by | February 7, 2009 · 12:48 pm

Todd Price for State Superintendent

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I hope to find the time to do a fuller analysis and endorsement, but meanwhile here is my letter to the editor version.

As State Superintendent of Public Instruction Todd Price will be the uncompromising advocate for our students and our schools that Wisconsin needs.

Each day that we continue to accept reasons to resist change is a day that Wisconsin’s commitment to excellence in public education is in jeopardy.  Our way of funding education is broken.  Merrill has laid off 10% of their staff; failed referenda this Spring in Appleton, Salem and elsewhere would bring larger class sizes; Holmen and other districts can no longer afford to participate in the proven but underfunded Student Guaranty in Education (SAGE) class size reduction program; Madison gutted locally funded class size reductions two years ago and there is no official talk of restoring them.  Todd Price is committed to fixing this broken system not finding excuses to preserve the status quo.

On school finance; testing and accountability; green, sustainable schools; proactive school climate and safety, the failures of No Child Left Behind; and other pressing school matters, Todd Price is the only candidate who will work to find and implement solutions immediately.  The future can’t wait.  Vote for Todd Price.

Here is a message from Todd’s campaign telling how you can help:

We’re lucky to have such a viable candidate running for Wisconsin State Superintendent of Schools in the February 17th election. The campaign needs your help to get Todd Price elected! Visit Todd’s website.

Here is what you can do:

***Donate! Because of the wonders of the internet money can be transmitted, and used on web advertisements very quickly. . If we can raise enough in the next week, we qualify for $98,000 of State Election Fund dollars! Every dollar helps.

***Invite your friends to join the Facebook group and post it to your profile by going to the group page and clicking Share+ on the right-hand side and select Post to Profile.

***Write a letter to the editor.

***Part of an organization that will endorse Todd? Let us know at: Contact@toddprice.org

***Oh yeah, vote for Todd Price February 17th!

An AP wire story speculated that turnout might “barely break double digits,” so every little bit of help could be the difference in a crowded primary. So please help if you can.

Thomas J.  Mertz

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by | January 29, 2009 · 4:09 pm

Education in Doyle’s “State of the State” — The Road to Ruin

GOV Gov-6

I’m having some trouble understanding what Governor Jim Doyle meant to communicate about education and education finance in his State of the State speech.

There was at least one good thought on the topic, I’ll give him that:

A second grader is not going to be able to come back when the economy is better and pick up where she left off if we fail her today. An older person can not check out of a nursing home and come back in a few years. There are basic needs our state has always met, and just as our predecessors met them in the most difficult times, we have a responsibility to meet them today. yesterday.

But there was also a rephrasing of his new oxymoronic slogan:  “Staying even is the new increase.”  I wonder how that formulation would be scored on a WKCE Reading or Math test?

To make matters worse, after stating that schools are among his top priorities and mislabeling the effective cuts of stable dollar funding as an increase, he continued:

And I am not going to say education funding is off limits. But I will not allow cuts that ruin the quality of our classrooms (emphasis added).

This is the new standard — anything short of “ruin” is OK.  Talk about setting the bar low.  Remember when we used to talk about quality education for all.  I do.

Hell, I remember when Doyle did:

It means fixing our broken system of school funding, and making an ironclad guarantee to every Wisconsin child that this state will give you a good start in life a quality education that enables you to succeed in tomorrow’s economy.

Governor Jim Doyle, 2002 victory speech

It gets worse.

Doyle apparently still sees a need for school finance reform, but his prescriptions are out of whack, or maybe just whack.

We can change school funding in a way that encourages the hiring and retention of good teachers, provides for high standards and encourages efficiencies in our school districts. We can take these steps to make sure our kids get a great education.

The first sounds like “merit pay,” which means asking cash strapped school districts to spend more on (some) teachers.  Explaining how “high standards” will fix school funding is beyond me (and I would guess beyond Doyle to0).  This brings us to the vaunted efficiencies.

For 15 years Wisconsin districts have sought and found efficiencies in order to balance budgets under  broken system based on a structural gap between mandated costs and allowed revenues.  Any reader of AMPS should know that in most districts the vast majority of potential savings via efficiencies has been long exhausted and that for years the cuts have been harming, if not ruining “the quality of our classrooms.”

If you want further evidence, just look at the operating referenda scheduled for this Spring and what districts are asking for.

  • Bowler, Herman, Loyal, Medford, Reedsville , Siren and Waupun aren’t very specific, only asking something like Siren’s “sustaining operating expenses with which to maintain the current level of operations.“
  • Waupun also asks for funds  “for non-recurring purposes consisting of acquiring educational resources including textbooks and classroom support materials.”
  • Ripon also wants to fund “replacing textbooks” and in addition for “updating curriculum, updating technology, performing maintenance and replacing vehicles.”
  • Middleton-Cross Plains wants funds for “acquisition of instructional materials and instructional technology” and “operating expenses of a new elementary school.”
  • Salem’s ask is clear: “for non-recurring purposes which would prevent further cuts to student’s educational opportunities and prevent an increase in class sizes.”

Books, class size, technology, maintenance…As a state we should do everything in our power to make sure that these basic educational expenses are met.  We don’t.

Governor Doyle knows that and his two-faced “prioritizing” of education while doing nothing to fix a system he himself has called broken is leading us down the road to ruin.

While on the topic of leadership I want to add that the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Tony Evers both praised Doyle’s remarks on education.   I know all about catching more flies with honey than vinegar, but I think that in this case those who have spent too long in the royal court can no longer even tell when the emperor has no clothes.  Or maybe they can tell, but just won’t.

Thomas J. Mertz

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by | December 5, 2008 · 6:08 pm

WAES School Funding Update, 12/1/2008

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    The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is a statewide, independent, membership-based organization of educators, school board members, students, parents, community leaders, researchers, citizens, and community activists whose lone goal is the comprehensive reform of Wisconsin’s school-funding system. If you would like more information about the organization — or on becoming part of WAES — contact Tom Beebe at 920-650-0525 or tbeebe@excellentschools.org.
    *******
    New report calls for balanced approach to solving fiscal deficit

    Most of us who fight for school-funding reform now understand that underfunded schools are just one symptom of a crisis in public structures. To save those services that level the playing field for all of us, we will need a balanced approach to government that includes new revenues as well as prioritization of spending and cuts in non-essential services.

    To answer the constant drumbeat calling for smaller government and no tax increases, a new report details “an inventory of options for reforming the state’s tax system and finding a balanced approach for filling the deficit.” “Catalog of Tax Reform Options” (http://www.wisconsinsfuture.org/publications/taxes/1108WI_TaxReformOptions.pdf) was authored by the Wisconsin Council of Children and Families (http://www.wccf.org/) and the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future (IWF at http://www.wisconsinsfuture.org).

    IWF’s Jack Norman, along with the report’s other authors, talked about the report in the Nov. 22 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an opinion piece entitled “How to raise money for our state (http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/34903414.html).” Norman was also Ben Merens’ guest, Nov. 24, on “At Issue” (http://www.wpr.org/merens/index.cfm?strDirection=Prev&dteShowDate=2008-11-24%2017%3A00%3A00) on Wisconsin Public Radio.
    *******
    Budget cuts could degrade Rhinelander High School

    Rhinelander Board of Education meetings are very well attended these days as the community discusses the future of their children’s education in light of a failed Nov. 4 referendum. Recent discussions are centering on moving back to a seven-period day at the high-school and put the hockey and swimming teams on the budget chopping block in light of the need to trim about $2 million from the district’s 2009-10 budget.

    Rhinelander implemented a four-period day 10 years ago because it was good for kids. High school Principal Terry Fondow told the board recently, however, that “because of the district’s fiscal reality” he was proposing moving back to a seven period day. This would mean reducing the number of graduation credits and advanced placement courses, increasing the student-teacher ratio, and eliminating staff. Fondow said, “It’s no doubt that I’m proposing a degradation of the high school, both in breadth and depth (http://www.newsofthenorth.net/article.cfm?articleID=24365).”

    Board President Chuck Fitzgerald told the audience at a recent meeting that the group would be considering budget cuts into April or May, but that athletic programs will be among them (http://www.newsofthenorth.net/article.cfm?articleID=24390). He explained that one proposal is to close the swimming pool which would mean the elimination of the hockey and swimming programs, both of which use the pool.

    Proposing the cuts, administrators said they worry they will damage education. “We are now at the level of cutting severely into what is good for children,” said co-assistant superintendent Carole Witt Starck.
    *******
    Proposed cuts in Merrill could “damage education”

    Options is the key word in the Merrill School District as the community looks to make $750,000 in for the 2009-10 school year (http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20081202/WDH0101/812020464/1981). This discussion also follows on the heels of an unsuccessful referendum to exceed revenue limits ($2.9 million) on Nov. 4.

    Merrill has cut its budget each year since 2000-01, and, during that span, has cut $5 million. Recommendations include eliminating the positions of three literacy teachers, cutting two teachers in high school elective courses, eliminating a middle school band teacher (reducing lesson and instruction time), and eliminating fourth grade at Maple Grove Elementary School by splitting the students among third- and fifth-grade classes.
    *******
    Rural school finance is subject of Dec. 10 “webinar”

    Rural School and Community Trust (http://www.ruraledu.org) will be holding a webinar — a web-based seminar — on the top 10 things you can do to improve Wisconsin’s financing of rural schools. The event will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 1 p.m. and consist of a conference call and a slide presentation.

    Amanda Adler, director of the Rural Education Finance Center, will host the discussion.

    Webinars are a regular benefit to members of the Rural School Innovation Network (RSIN), but they are also open to non-members for a fee of $45. For more information on this event or joining the RSIN, go to http://www.ruraledu.org/site/c.beJMIZOCIrH/b.3937703/k.5F87/RSIN_News_and_Updates.htm.
    *******
    Waupun hopes third time a charm for referendum

    In an effort to keep two schools open, the administration of the Waupun School District recently came forward with a $3 million “high-stakes referendum” for the April ballot (http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20081203/FON0101/812030440/0/FON0201).

    In the past two years, voters have rejected two operational referenda. The decision to try again was among seven options outlined to balance the 2009-10 budget and beyond. One Waupun resident said “we have to make it clear (to voters) what will happen if this referendum fails. If people realize these schools will close or their child has to ride the bus over an hour every day, they might vote a little differently.”

    Closing the two schools would save over $400,000. Other options for reducing the budget include cutting additional personnel, a wage freeze for non-represented employees, eliminating four athletic teams, cutting middle school extra-curricular activities, and abolishing the police liaison position.
    *******
    Membership in WAES is more important now than ever

    Two organizations and three individuals are the latest welcomed additions to WAES, a diverse, statewide coalition working for school-funding reform. Joining are Glorie Salas, Ken and Kim Bates, the Neshkoro School Visioning Committee (in the Westfield School District http://www.westfield.k12.wi.us/), and Price County Citizens Who CARE, the group that “started” the school-funding reform movement in Wisconsin when members walked from Butternut to Madison about 10 years ago to “talk about” their problems with the present finance system.

    If you haven’t joined the effort to bring the reform message to everyone, do it now. WAES is an independent, non-profit, dues-supported organization. If we are going to organize communities around the state for change, we need your talent, your time, and your financial support. Go to http://www.excellentschools.org/about/join.htm … it’s quick, it’s easy, and you can join online.

    When you pay your dues, you are helping to finance the core educational mission of WAES. Numbering 120 strong organizations and individuals, our mission is to make sure that as many people as possible get the message of reform. We do that by traveling around the state and holding school-funding change discussions in church basements, schools, kitchens, and meeting halls. You can find out how to bring this message to your community at http://www.excellentschools.org/calendar/SchoolFundingWorkshop.htm.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | November 5, 2008 · 2:28 pm

    Victory – Move on Up

    Just move on up
    and keep on wishing
    Remember your dreams
    are your only schemes
    So keep on pushing
    Take nothing less –
    Never second best
    And do not obey –
    you must have your say
    You can past the test

    Curtis Mayfield, “Move on Up.”

    The Madison school referendum, the Wisconsin Assembly, of course the Presidency and more — victories worth celebrating and building on.

    As Curtis says, “keep on pushing.”  This is just the start.  We need to stay involved and active to in order to move on up.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | November 3, 2008 · 11:04 pm

    Vote Today! Vote Yes for Schools!

    Vote today!  Vote Yes for Schools!

    Not much else to say, so some special election day musical selections.

    Chis Stamey and Yo la Tengo, “Vote” (click to listen or download).

    Chick Webb Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald, “Vote for Mister Rhythm” (click to listen or download).

    Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come” (click to listen or download).

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | November 3, 2008 · 4:08 pm

    Madison Referendum: More Than Affordable…

    Successful Recurring Recurring Referenda as % of Revenue Limits, Nov. 2004 - Nov. 2008.

    Successful Recurring Recurring Referenda as % of Revenue Limits, Nov. 2004 - Nov. 2008.

    For a number of reasons, I’m fairly confident that the MMSD referendum will pass.  In fact, I still think that Madison could have and should have passed a larger referendum.  I’ll start with the could have and then revisit some of the should have.

    The graph at the top of the page shows successful recurring operating referenda since November, 2004 as percentages of the district revenue caps in place at the time of the votes (operating referenda linked to building projects were not included, the final total price was used for multi-year recurring referenda, $13 million in Madison’s case).  The pending Madison referendum is in red.  This referendum represents 4.98% of the district’s revenue limit; the average of all the successful referenda is 8.53%.  If Madison had asked for the average percent, it would have been an over $22 million referendum.  With $22 million, we could have restored valued programs, renewed the maintenance and technology revenue authority, realistically considered new ways to improve the education our district offers, and more.  The lesson here is that other districts, with much less of a culture of educational support, have passed relatively more sizable measures than we are considering.

    For further evidence that Madison could have afforded more, we need look no further than the the recently approved 2009-10 budget and mil rate (district documents, here).  Due to greater than expected growth in the tax base, individual tax rates went down more than expected, from 9.92% to 9.81%.  This points to two important things.  First, the starting point for referendum-related tax increases is lower than anticipated.  Second, the quality of our schools continues to be a contributing factor to our healthy local economy.

    Affordability is a matter of opinion and it is impossible to prove or disprove the outcome of offering the voters a larger referendum, but both the above pieces of evidence are suggestive of a positive prognosis.  With counterfactuals, that’s about as good as you can do.

    I could offer at least 24,189 reasons why there should have been a larger referendum.  I just want to touch briefly on three today.  First, I do not believe that there are $3 million worth of cuts over the next three years that will not have a negative effect on the quality of education our district provides; second, there are many valuable things that have been cut in that past that I think should have been considered for restoration;  last, there will be a need for a maintenance referendum in 2010 and I believe that an extension of this should have been included.

    When discussing the quality of education, it is always important to begin with the observation that we are a district with high needs.  We have a higher percentage of students with disabilities, students in poverty and English language learners than the state average (data can be accessed here and is summarized here).  These categories are important, because each of them are covered by underfunded mandates.  Because our percentages are higher and the mandates are underfunded, Madison must spend a higher percentage (than the average district) of our general operating revenue to address these needs.

    This is part of the reason that I do not believe that after 15 years and over $60 million worth of cuts, $3 million more worth of “harmless” cuts can be found.   I am not naive enough to pretend that there aren’t programs and positions that are not as effective as they should be, but I do believe that there are also new and old ways that money reallocated from these budget lines could be used to improve the quality of our schools.  As framed by this referendum, any new ideas or restorations of old services will only be possible after $3 million worth of cuts are found.

    In a letter to the Cap Times Steve Pike detailed some of the ways past cuts have harmed our schools.  I have touched on some of others here (as well as other places).  Both in local budget discussions and in the fight for state finance reform, I have repeatedly said “we cannot afford to cut more.”  I believe that.  I believe that many of the cuts that have already been made were harmful.  We have more deteriorating facilities, less current technology, larger classes, less community outreach and parent-teacher contact, a smaller variety of offerings, more difficult situations with specials classes, fewer support staff…than we used to have and and we should have.

    The maintenance and technology renewal is somewhat different, but just as important.  The 2009-10 school year is the last year of the non-recurring maintenance and technology referendum passed in 2006.  In the 2010-11 year, MMSD will lose $5.5 million in revenue authority from this referendum (while adding an anticipated $4 million or $9 million — depending on how you count it — from the referendum on the ballot November 4).  The current referendum could have been offered so that this amount was included on a recurring basis, beginning in 2010.  This amount would have still left the referendum well below the average (as percentage of revenue limits) of passed recurring referenda pictured at the top.  As far as I can tell this possibility was never publicly considered by the Board of Education.  Because of this oversight, the district, the Board and the community will have to engage in an additional referendum process and campaign.

    I’ve been campaigning on behalf of the referendum and will enthusiastically vote yes because the the alternative is so obviously wrong.  My enthusiasm will be tinged with regret that the referendum could have been bigger and better, could have provided more room for dreaming and less need for cutting.  I believe that a referendum like that would have passed also and our children and our community would have both benefited.

    The referendum on the ballot is more than affordable, but less than it should have been.  Vote Yes for Schools!

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | October 24, 2008 · 4:37 pm

    News from CAST

    From the Community and Schools Together website:

    Many things going on and many new things on the web site.

    We are in the last weeks of literature distribution.  Almost 20,000 homes have been reached, another 10,000 or so will be done this weekend (October 25-26) and next week we want to hit as many more as possible.

    On October 25 and 26 we still need help in Fitchburg and in the Falk and Huegel areas.  Next week there will be lots of small things – including Maple Bluff and Brams Addition — and major pushes on the North side and to the South and West.

    Without you volunteering, we can’t do anything.  Isn’t assuring that our schools avoid $13 million worth of cuts in the next three years worth an hour or so of your time?

    To help, email madisoncast@sbcglobal.net or fill out this form.

    New on the web site is an up-to-date Endorsement Page, including a letter signed by 49 local elected officials.

    The Press/Media Page has also been updated, with videos, a radio interview, many editorials and opinion pieces, more do-it-yourself Advocacy material, and all the latest news reports.

    Check out the district referendum pages also.

    More updates coming soon.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | October 10, 2008 · 7:11 pm

    We Are Not Alone #25 — Class Size and Segregation Edition

    I’ve written about the Student Achievement Guaranty in Education (SAGE) as an underfunded mandate, and noted the trend toward increasing class sizes around the state, especially but not exclusively in districts where referenda have failed.  A report from Verona shows how vulnerable this proven educational practice is —  even in growing districts — under our broken system.

    We all know that declining enrollment districts have been hit hard, but despite adding 100 students this year, Verona is considering dropping out or getting kicked out of SAGE, of denying their students the benefits of small classes in the early grades.

    Verona is having troubles with the new strictness on the 15/1 ratio, and having troubles paying to keep this ratio out of general operating funds.  If they drop or lose SAGE, they will lose $850,000, but to comply with the rules would mean adding classes at an additional cost of $430,000. Even without the SAGE issue, Verona was looking at $600,000 in cuts for 2009-10. What’s a district to do?

    Segregation is one very unfortunate solution.  The way this is reported is scary and not 100% accurate:

    One choice would be to group low-income students at a couple schools and designate those as SAGE sites, as many districts – including Madison – already do.

    SAGE contracts are limited and in recent years MMSD has cut local funds for class size reduction and moved their limited contracts to high poverty schools.  Madison has not embraced an affirmative policy of economic segregation and still gives some attention to seeking desegregation when assigning students.

    Madison has also not embraced a policy of affirmative desegregation and I’ve heard no concern that the Third Friday Count showed Glendale at 80% low income, while the adjoining attendance area for Elvehjem is 25% low income.

    The Equity Task Force asked the Board to consider having an annual report on economic segregation in schools and in class assignment.  They have never discussed this proposal  in an open meeting.

    Like class size reduction, socio-economic diversity has yeilded positive achievement results.  These are becoming either-or-choices, when we all know we should do both.

    Thomas J. Mertz

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    by | October 9, 2008 · 1:25 pm

    24,189 Reasons — My Referendum Letter

    To be sent to The Capital Times, The Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital City Hues, The Madison Times and maybe more (I may do another edit before sending).  Click on the links to send your own letter!

    24,189 Reasons to Vote Yes

    According to the official September census, the Madison Metropolitan School District serves 24,189 students.  The individual and collective futures of these students are the best reasons to vote yes on the November 4 operating referendum.

    We have an obligation to these students to give them the best opportunities to flourish and to be part making their world a better place than the one we are leaving them.

    The world we are leaving our children is a mix of good and bad.  We are a prosperous community in a prosperous nation, but there is great economic uncertainty and growing deficits and debts at all levels.  We have wonderful traditions of self government, but these traditions have been corrupted and our representatives are often ineffective or inattentive.  We have ideals of justice and equality that unite us, but are torn apart by divisions and inequality.  We think of ourselves as a world leader for peace and freedom, but our devastating mistakes have made us an embattled pariah at a time when cooperation is essential.

    We need to give the coming generations the tools they need to build on the good and correct the bad.  We can do this in many ways, but strong public schools have to part of it.

    Our community understands this; we value education and know the value of education.  Under the broken state finance system, referenda are how we can act on this knowledge to support the quality schools we want and need.

    Our schools are very good, but far from perfect.  Fifteen years of trying to do more with less under a broken system have taken their toll.  We can all find things with the schools that we don’t like or think need to be done better, or more, or less.  The improvements we demand aren’t going to happen without the resources supplied by the referendum.

    What will happen are more distracting struggles as the district tries to find the least harmful $13 million to $16 million worth of cuts over the next three years.

    Dissatisfaction with particulars and desire for improvement aren’t reasons to vote no, they are reasons to vote yes.  Just like we need to give those 24,189 students the tools to make the world better, we need to give our schools the resources they need to build on the good and correct the bad.

    Vote yes for schools, vote yes for a better future, vote yes for the 24,189 children who are depending on your support.

    Thomas J. Mertz

    Franklin-Randall and JC Wright Parent

    Chair, Progressive Dane Education Committee

    Take care of the children
    The children of the world
    They’re our strongest hope for the future
    The little bitty boys and girls

    Make this land a better land
    Than the world in which we live
    And help each man be a better man
    With the kindness that you give
    I know we can make it (I know that we can)
    I know darn well we can work it out
    Oh yes we can, I know we can can

    “Yes We Can Can,” by Allen Toussaint, as performed by Lee Dorsey (click to listen or download).

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    by | October 7, 2008 · 10:27 am

    City Budget and Education II

    Maybe these children wouldn’t be smiling if they knew what the Mayor had in store for them.

    I’ve been working on a post on the Community Agenda for America’s Public Schools, this reaction to the agenda and the lack of apparent progress in public and private partnerships for the public schools in Madison, including the intiative announced by Mayor Cieslewicz on April 9, 2008 (and discussed behind the scenes by many over a year before that).  Today another piece of the story demanding immediate attention came to light. So here instead is an unplanned part II of City Budget and Education (part I here).

    My friend in city hall, Brenda Konkel, has the details and the analysis:

    Dean Mosiman called me about the budget story he wrote. It’s hard to react to something you haven’t seen, but one thing is clear. The Mayor totally misled me and several others when he said he would hold Community Services agencies harmless like the police department. Not true.

    No cost of living increases for the Community Services and CDBG groups. I was mad enough when he told us that even though we requested 4%, he was giving us 3%. (And he didn’t even know that he didn’t give us what we had requested.) When I say “us”, I mean as part of the Early Childhood Education and Childcare Board. I seriously, don’t want to go to another heartbreaking meeting where we agonize over which after school program to cut.

    This is absurd on so many levels. Nothing for kids to do after school will just mean we need more police services. Which means there will be less money for community services and then Capt. Lengfeld can complain that the community services agencies just can’t keep up. It makes sense, he’s right, if there are no cost of living increases and the city is growing, and health care and fuel costs and everything else goes up, how are agencies supposed to keep up. Duh.

    This makes no sense. We better just add 100 more police officers and get them some human services training, because there won’t be community services to work with them to prevent troubles in the community. Or, we better just start accepting that lower quality of life that some neighborhoods are concerned about

    Posted by Brenda Konkel at 7:32 AM

    Not much to add to this, except to point to this story about how we are already failing as a city to provide children (some?, many?) with the supports needed to take advantage of educational oportunities and to highlight one thing in the context of the Novemeber 4, referendum.

    Alder Konkel wrote:

    I seriously, don’t want to go to another heartbreaking meeting where we agonize over which after school program to cut.

    With the exception of this year, every Spring the Board of Education holds a series of heartbreaking meetings where they decide which school programs and after school programs to cut, which will do the least harm to the education of our children.

    The November referendum will not put an end to these heartbreaking meetings (about $3 million will be cut over the next three years), but it will make the meetings less painful than they would be if about $16 million had to be cut over the same period (what no referendum means).

    Thomas J. Mertz

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