chris1gill
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/index.
- Joined
- Sep 2, 1999
I was surprised to read of this local story. It seems that parents are asked to pay for things like bussing & extracurricular activities, but they won't accept money to save a Spanish program for grades 2-6??? It seems to me this is the age children SHOULD learn it... if the parents came up with the money to save the program, more power to them!! My DH says they should use the money to oust the school board & replace it with people who will actually care about the children. The children afterall, are the only people (along with seven staff members) who lose out here... It's a shame, but perhaps that's jjust me... So, should they take the money or no???
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...town_rejects_380000_from_parents_for_program/
Town rejects $380,000 from parents for program
By Lisa Keen and Tracy Jan, Globe Correspondent And Globe Staff | May 27, 2005
WELLESLEY -- Upset that voters' defeat of a tax override eliminated their young children's Spanish immersion program, Wellesley parents opened their checkbooks and delivered $380,000 to the school board to restore it.
It would seem like a gift any school system facing cuts would embrace. But members of the School Committee refused the offer this week, saying they didn't want to create a school system where affluent parents can raise enough money to save a particular program.
In cash-strapped school systems around the state, it is common for parents to raise money for extracurricular activities, equipment, and supplies when needs arise. But the amount of money raised in Wellesley and the fact that it was for an academic, rather than extracurricular, program are unusual, said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
He defended the Wellesley School Committee's decision, saying accepting money for an academic program could set a dangerous precedent.
''We frequently see school committees thinking very carefully before they take money, especially when it's targeted," Koocher said. ''Otherwise, advocates for particular disciplines can then go out and raise money; other disciplines which are no less worthy don't get supported because they don't have wealthy benefactors."
On May 10, Wellesley voters considered two overrides for education-related tax increases, with about 60 teachers' jobs at stake. The first option, a $3.6 million increase overall, would have kept the 60 teachers, the Spanish program with seven more teachers, and a high school librarian; voters rejected it by 17 votes. Under that plan, property taxes would have been raised on average $329 a year, a 5 percent increase for a taxpayer whose annual bill is now $6,031.
The second override was to raise taxes by $2.6 million a year and preserve the 60 teachers' jobs but not the Spanish program and its seven teaching positions. That proposal passed.
Under the smaller override, the average tax bill will increase $240 a year, or about 4 percent. Along with a $198 tax increase that would have occurred even if both overrides had failed, next year's average tax bill will climb $438, to $6,469.
Suzanne Littlefield, the School Committee chairwoman, said Wellesley schools have accepted private contributions in the past, primarily for computers and playground equipment.
''I had a very difficult time accepting private funding for public school teacher salary," Littlefield said. ''It was crossing a line."
She and other board members said they liked the popular Spanish program, but could no longer afford what is considered a luxury in many school systems. The school system recruited native speakers of Spanish who spoke only Spanish in the classroom, so the children could learn through an immersion approach. The classes were offered in grades 2-5 in the district's elementary schools and in sixth grade at the middle school.
Bowing to parents' wishes would have sent a bad message to voters, said Gerald Murphy, a School Committee member.
In the future, voters might have been willing to vote against any tax increase because they thought parents or others would step forward and pay for programs slated to be cut, Murphy said.
''The voters have spoken," he said. ''I don't agree with their decision. . . . But they spoke."
Parents who packed the School Committee meeting on Tuesday said they saw the program as a necessity, not an extra.
''Kids need foreign language to compete in today's economy," said parent Susan Ryan.
Dorene Higgons, a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, and Debbi Young, a consultant and former manager at IBM, co-led the fund-raising effort. Higgons said they were baffled by some residents' objections to the Spanish program.
''One person said, 'I didn't have Spanish when I was in school,' " Higgons said. ''Well, we didn't have computers when I was in school either, but would anyone really suggest we not have computers in our schools today?"
The two mothers enlisted a parent at every elementary school to serve as fund-raising coordinator. Some people gave as little as $5; a private foundation gave $7,000, the largest donation, they said.
Young said her daughter's desire to continue Spanish in the sixth grade motivated her involvement in the fund-raising.
''Parents recognize there is a need in the world for kids to be able to speak other languages," she said.
She and Higgons said they were starting to return the checks they had collected because they didn't believe they had any alternatives.
The state Department of Education has no opinion on the board's decision to refuse the parents' help, said Heidi Perlman, a department spokeswoman.
''It's entirely a local decision," she said. ''We can't step in."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...town_rejects_380000_from_parents_for_program/
Town rejects $380,000 from parents for program
By Lisa Keen and Tracy Jan, Globe Correspondent And Globe Staff | May 27, 2005
WELLESLEY -- Upset that voters' defeat of a tax override eliminated their young children's Spanish immersion program, Wellesley parents opened their checkbooks and delivered $380,000 to the school board to restore it.
It would seem like a gift any school system facing cuts would embrace. But members of the School Committee refused the offer this week, saying they didn't want to create a school system where affluent parents can raise enough money to save a particular program.
In cash-strapped school systems around the state, it is common for parents to raise money for extracurricular activities, equipment, and supplies when needs arise. But the amount of money raised in Wellesley and the fact that it was for an academic, rather than extracurricular, program are unusual, said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
He defended the Wellesley School Committee's decision, saying accepting money for an academic program could set a dangerous precedent.
''We frequently see school committees thinking very carefully before they take money, especially when it's targeted," Koocher said. ''Otherwise, advocates for particular disciplines can then go out and raise money; other disciplines which are no less worthy don't get supported because they don't have wealthy benefactors."
On May 10, Wellesley voters considered two overrides for education-related tax increases, with about 60 teachers' jobs at stake. The first option, a $3.6 million increase overall, would have kept the 60 teachers, the Spanish program with seven more teachers, and a high school librarian; voters rejected it by 17 votes. Under that plan, property taxes would have been raised on average $329 a year, a 5 percent increase for a taxpayer whose annual bill is now $6,031.
The second override was to raise taxes by $2.6 million a year and preserve the 60 teachers' jobs but not the Spanish program and its seven teaching positions. That proposal passed.
Under the smaller override, the average tax bill will increase $240 a year, or about 4 percent. Along with a $198 tax increase that would have occurred even if both overrides had failed, next year's average tax bill will climb $438, to $6,469.
Suzanne Littlefield, the School Committee chairwoman, said Wellesley schools have accepted private contributions in the past, primarily for computers and playground equipment.
''I had a very difficult time accepting private funding for public school teacher salary," Littlefield said. ''It was crossing a line."
She and other board members said they liked the popular Spanish program, but could no longer afford what is considered a luxury in many school systems. The school system recruited native speakers of Spanish who spoke only Spanish in the classroom, so the children could learn through an immersion approach. The classes were offered in grades 2-5 in the district's elementary schools and in sixth grade at the middle school.
Bowing to parents' wishes would have sent a bad message to voters, said Gerald Murphy, a School Committee member.
In the future, voters might have been willing to vote against any tax increase because they thought parents or others would step forward and pay for programs slated to be cut, Murphy said.
''The voters have spoken," he said. ''I don't agree with their decision. . . . But they spoke."
Parents who packed the School Committee meeting on Tuesday said they saw the program as a necessity, not an extra.
''Kids need foreign language to compete in today's economy," said parent Susan Ryan.
Dorene Higgons, a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, and Debbi Young, a consultant and former manager at IBM, co-led the fund-raising effort. Higgons said they were baffled by some residents' objections to the Spanish program.
''One person said, 'I didn't have Spanish when I was in school,' " Higgons said. ''Well, we didn't have computers when I was in school either, but would anyone really suggest we not have computers in our schools today?"
The two mothers enlisted a parent at every elementary school to serve as fund-raising coordinator. Some people gave as little as $5; a private foundation gave $7,000, the largest donation, they said.
Young said her daughter's desire to continue Spanish in the sixth grade motivated her involvement in the fund-raising.
''Parents recognize there is a need in the world for kids to be able to speak other languages," she said.
She and Higgons said they were starting to return the checks they had collected because they didn't believe they had any alternatives.
The state Department of Education has no opinion on the board's decision to refuse the parents' help, said Heidi Perlman, a department spokeswoman.
''It's entirely a local decision," she said. ''We can't step in."
I can tell you, that the public funding is NOT spread equitably for any group of children. I say they take all the money given to the budget, subtract out operating costs & then split the remaining amount between the number of children in the district & spend that PER child... for each and every child.... parents should make up the difference if they are unhappy with the program their child is receiving... This of course will NEVER happen... 
