Opinion: Restore Excellence to Our Schools, Vote Dunn-Slater and Row A

A Letter to the Editor from Shana Graham.

I moved to Brookfield in April of 2009 with my husband and two boys while pregnant with my daughter. After having lived in New Hampshire and Florida and always feeling unsettled, I did an extensive amount of research regarding the town I wanted to call home. I picked Brookfield because of its suburban/rural environment, its proximity to urban areas, its convenience to shopping and entertainment, but most of all, because of its schools. Over the years, however, I have noticed an alarming trend in the quality of education in this town.

Under the current administration, school spending is inadequate. Brookfield’s per pupil spending is the lowest in our Demographic Reference Group. Students are missing out on enrichment programs, free or low-cost athletics, a third language, lower class sizes, a variety of courses at the high school as well as honors classes at the high school. Honors courses are vital to engage our higher performers throughout their school career. The only option for our higher-achieving students is to take AP courses which are rigorous, but only offered in certain subjects, require taking an expensive test and are usually offered only in junior/senior years.

Also, did you know that our high school has only ONE business teacher to instruct kids in valuable subjects like finance and computer applications? Only ONE art teacher is employed to engage our artistic students. In addition, a new 4-year math requirement was implemented which resulted in AP courses being overbooked. Thirty students in an AP course is unacceptable. The marching band is small-- only thirty kids and no orchestra, strings or jazz band option. Much of this is the result of the belt-tightening that had to occur due to the 0% budget increase in effect during the 2014-2015 school year. Inadequate school spending often results in poor performance. Indeed, Brookfield’s current SAT scores are the 4th lowest in our DRG.

A well-educated populace benefits us all. The more options the students have in school to find their niche and be successful, the fewer problems we will have with drug abuse, delinquency and crime. Small class sizes are vital to ensure the individual attention all students need to encourage their strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses. I am sympathetic to the plight of senior citizens living on a fixed income and understand the struggles they face. However, if the requested Board of Ed budget for the 2014-2015 school year went through, it would have resulted in a property tax increase of $11 per month for a median home price of $500,000. Honestly, I spend more on Dunkin Donuts per month than that. I’m sure most of us do.

The reasons above are why I am voting for Dunn/Slater and the entire Row A slate this election period. I feel confident that they are the right people to restore excellence to our schools. As an educator, I know firsthand how poor funding negatively impacts students. Please don’t allow this to continue happening to our kids. Vote Row A.

--Shana Graham