Letter to the Editor: Save the schools
I delve into this letter with a bit of unease and a tremendous amount of determination. My unease comes from the fact that I myself have been a teacher in a traditional public school for the past 13 years, and I worry some will not accept my words due to this.
Likewise, the determination I have also stems from these 13 years of being entrenched deeply in the education system. The public school system has been weathering attacks from legislation that by no means put kids first. A successful school cannot be ran like a business as some think, and this is because kids are not commodities. Rather, kids are the future, and the schools are there to help them all realize and achieve their potential.
My father has told me that change for the better will come. I am not one to ever question my parents, but the continued lack of funding for traditional public schools, most notably the smaller, rural schools, and the legislative decisions that target these same schools surely raise some doubts about the future of some of our most successful schools.
In an effort to kickstart some possible change, I have written letters to legislators in an effort to garner understanding and support. I had hoped that tactics used by politicians and private companies profiteering from public charter schools of misinforming and using half-truths with numbers and studies to lead the public astray from actual truths and facts would be brought to light. However, this seems to be a very polarizing topic right now, and it seems that too many are hesitant to take on this battle.
The effects of legislation that does not properly support our schools is now upon our doorstep. Unbeknownst to many, Duggar Community Schools and many others in our state were forced to shut down. The effects then came closer to us as our neighbors in Pike County were forced to make the tough choice of closing a wonderfully successful elementary school.
We in Dubois County are not impervious to these effects, either, as our very own Northeast Dubois School Corporation is struggling to overcome the state’s lack of support. As the Jeeps are in need of community support right now, the entire traditional public school system is also in need of support.
It is unfortunate that Bill Hochgesang and the Northeast Dubois School Corporation have had to resort to the referendum of which we are now all aware. However, it is a decision that is in the best interest of what is most important, the students in the corporation, and it is a decision that I proudly support.
The financial troubles that burden this corporation should not be confused as a fault of the school and its leaders. Rather, these burdens are the direct result of substandard legislation that all public schools are now forced to deal with.
It could easily be said that I have “no dog in this fight” as my wife and I do not have any kids of our own, and I am not employed in this school district. However, I very strongly believe that I do have high stakes in this. I told someone recently that I would vote in favor of this referendum solely because my property value is higher because of the great school district I live in and all of the great districts that surround it. However, my greatest reason for supporting this is that my family, friends and neighbors do have kids in this school, and I want them to have the best opportunities for their future just like the rest of us did before them.
The change I have long hoped for in legislation may not be here yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t coming. I hate that any school district is forced to deal with such financial troubles due to poor state legislation, but I think that there is a silver lining to Northeast Dubois’ referendum. An opportunity for open discussion about education has been brought front and center in our area, and this is essential for bringing back the support for our schools that all of the kids in our community and State deserve.
I am an avid supporter of the Northeast Dubois School Corporation and all of our community schools. I hope we come together in the northeast district in a display of profound support for our school system. Furthermore, I hope that we as an entire county, no, an entire State, come together in an effort to embrace and support our traditional public schools. The kids in my school, family, and community are the reason for me to speak up, and I hope it is these same kids that will cause many more to speak up in support of the great schools with which we are all blessed.
Kerry Lueken
Great and accurate letter. Voucher, charter and virtual schools now take $257 funding from each public school student. That is $7,710 per classroom of 30 students. Those are tax dollars going away from public schools to support private schools and profit making charter schools. Parents of public school students should be upset that their children are not a priority of the governor and legislators.
And tell me what is wrong with supporting school choice? Many public schools especially in the large cities aren’t worth the $7,710 they would lose per full classroom.
Not every child is leaving public schools for an alternative school so the figure for a whole classroom is inflated. All that is being “lost” is the $257 per child be it one, two, or a hundred.
You want your child in private school, you pay for it
And why, may I ask, should the taxpayer only fund traditional public schools? Charter schools, private schools,and home schooling parents are serving the public good by educating students.
The author of the above response appears to have little knowledge of what is taking place in education.
First of all, our society decided two hundred years ago that to maintain a democracy, all people must be educated and many states passed compulsory attendance laws as a result. Secondly, it has been a normal standard that if you want something, a car, a truck, a new house or chocolate ice cream, that you have the responsibility to pay your own bills and not ask the remainder of society to pay for your private school.
The data is very clear, public schools do as well and usually better than private, charter and virtual schools. The corruption in charter schools and virtual schools is rampant.
A recent survey showed that parents took their children from A and B schools and placed them in private schools because they wanted the religious training and not the academic training.
Corporate charter schools have been declared to be private schools by courts across the country and by the NLRB. Fifteen of the lowest scoring schools in the bottom thirty in Indiana are charter schools. Federal funding was withheld by the U S Department of Education because of the rampant corruption that has been found in Ohio, The FBI has been investigating several charter schools in Indiana. Studies show that segregation by culture and economics has been fostered by charter schools. And, a major complaint about charter schools is that tax dollars go to an institution with no elected citizens on their board which also applies to voucher schools and virtual schools.
Virtual schools have been a major disaster due to no form of control as to the person taking the class or whether there is cheating going on.
The problems will come to Southern Indiana if parents of public school students permit the governor and legislature to take money from the 92.5% of all students and give it to a chosen few.
There is more information than this response can provide. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education works to support public schools. For more information, call 812-287-0036.
I love these types of letters, that string a bunch of complaints/problems in sentences, and then try and whip up emotion toward; a result that has no plan or strategy to offer. If we planned our military battles by emotion and not strategy, we would have lost WWII. NE Dubois County Schools are losing funding because they are losing students. The state is cutting back on every district. No one is exempt. The losses have created a budget shortfall. Obviously the current tax revenue does not generate enough to make up that difference. The surrounding school corporations have increased their taxes to offset their losses. NE needs to do the same. Why should some other districts tax payer pay for your shortfall? They’re your children, invest in their future. Don’t expect the others to carry a burden your not willing to carry yourself. What’s broken in America is our desire to have someone else pay the way.
The United States spends more per student then most industrialized nations and yet still ranks 28th in Science and Math scores. What we need to do is spend less school dollars on college and universities and more school dollars on better educating our K-12 students. The curriculum in the Far East is much harder and requires greater study. Our schools are broken because we think new brick and mortar will fix the problem or higher taxes. The problem lies in our curriculum and our unwillingness as parents to demand more from our children, except when it comes to sports.
https://rossieronline.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/
http://epi.3cdn.net/bb997c612d96e34be7_svm6bhj0f.pdf
Complete Rankings:
1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. South Korea
4. Japan (tie)
4. Taiwan (tie)
6. Finland
7. Estonia
8. Switzerland
9. Netherlands
10. Canada
11. Poland
12. Vietnam
13. Germany
14. Australia
15. Ireland
16. Belgium
17. New Zealand
18. Slovenia
19. Austria
20. United Kingdom
21. Czech Republic
22. Denmark
23. France
24. Latvia
25. Norway
26. Luxembourg
27. Spain
28. Italy (tie)
28. United States (tie)
Like most of the news we receive nowadays, these rankings are tainted for political reasons. The US tests every public school student; most of these countries only test those who are on track to attend college. Then, many of these countries send their top students to college in the US. Wonder why?