Cry me a river.

Last night was not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that I've cried in front of the school board. I wish I could talk about our kids' education without getting emotional, but it's just not in my DNA.

Here's what I said through the tears:

I’m here tonight to ask you to endorse a budget that accurately represents the cost of educating kids in our Town. 

I understand that our SPED costs are astronomical, through the roof, unlike anything we’ve seen before—pick your description. And I appreciate the need to educate all students in our district. 

But we can’t cut out the rest of the budget because SPED costs are high and funding is low. 

I’ve watched the recent budget workshops and want to add some comments. 

Computers are necessary and the 8-10 year old computers we currently have in our classrooms are unacceptable.

Document cameras aid the learning of all students, and while outfitting the entire Elementary school might not be an option this year, cutting them out entirely and hoping for a better year next year doesn’t seem like a smart plan to me. How has that worked out for us in the past?

Cutting classroom teachers is also unacceptable. We talk about what makes Newmarket a great district—start eliminating staff and increasing class sizes in the elementary school and let’s see what happens.

And while I understand that new textbooks for the High School might not be the best purchase with the Oyster River option still on the table, Smart Boards are. A Smart Board could easily be moved to the elementary school or put to use in the middle school should a tuition agreement happen. 

We SHOULD all be outraged at the tax burden on property owners in Newmarket and throughout the State. But let’s not take it out on the kids. Call your State Reps and let them know that this is the cost of their decisions in Concord. Tell them that they need to fight harder for us. 

For now, our community needs to accept what it costs to educate ALL OF the kids in Newmarket.

The School Board rose to the challenge last night and approved a budget that represents a roughly 7% increase. We can expect cuts to be made by the Budget Committee--we all need to pay attention to this process and fight for the education that we have here in Newmarket. 

But I'm not going to sit around and cry about this. Budget meetings will be held 11/25, 12/2, and 12/11 at 7pm. I'll be there and I hope you will be too.