Liars, Damn Liars, and Statistics

I really have had my fill of statistics for a while.

As a member of the ad hoc tax committee, I have had over the last 4 months a strong refresher course of how numbers can be manipulated by both sides to get a desired result anyone with any agenda can use  to prove their case. What is the saying  "There are liars, damn liars, and then statistics"?

Last night was more of the same. At the appropriations meeting, the schools had a handout showing the high testing results Barrington gets consistently, well above the majority of the state, coupled by sheets that showed the fact that we spend near the bottom per pupil in Rhode island and compare favorably with similar performing districts in Massachusetts. All true.

The icing on the cake, though, was the triumph of Forbes magazine showing us 4th (Wow 4th nationwide we are now rally famous!) in the nation in our education rating.

It is all very impressive. But these comparisons must be looked at with a cynical eye. We do have better schools than the rest of Rhode island, but isn't that like saying the USA has better health care than Uruguay? I mean, gosh, I hope our schools are better than Johnston! Isn't that why we all moved here?

As to our costs, well, our costs are lower because we have an outstanding management team, Dr. McIntyre and especially Ron Tarro are forward thinkers who watch our money and work to save whenever they can. The result is that our costs are lower and we continue to cost us less than the rest of the state that do not have the expertise in this area which we so often take for granted. The problem is that there just so many things out of their control.

But the school committee just does not get it. The fact that we cost less than the failures around us is not the solution that says we have arrived. There is still a lot of money to be saved. ( I am sure I will be writing about this in the coming weeks).

But the biggest problem is the TEACHER'S CONTRACT!. For if we don't find a way to get that under control, and I mean big time, everything everyone else does to save money is moot. While we cost less than average per pupil, our teachers at the top steps (which most are) are among the top paid. And thanks to the current contract they are going up faster than the rest of the state.

The school committee chairman has stated  strongly that teachers are underpaid. I know he believes that, but if any teacher with 20 years' service regardless of subject, performance, or even competence, who also coaches a sport, can make more money than the police chief, PLUS get 12 weeks off a year,  plus 4 weeks sick and personal time, plus all those holidays is underpaid,  then I know thousands of people who are much  more grossly underpaid with maybe 2 weeks' vacation and maybe 3-5 sick days whose tax dollars are going to pay those underpaid teachers. Their taxes keep going up and they know it's not fair. And the day will come when they won't stand for it.

As to trotting out the Forbes magazine article where we were named 4th, I urge the school committee to be careful with that. You know how competitive Barrington parents are. They are not going to settle for being 4th. They are driven to be first.

So, how many teachers will we have to let go when all those parents up and move to Falmouth, Maine! Wait, you didn't know that Falmouth has the best schools according to Forbes? What a coup! I wonder at their financial meetings do you suppose there are handouts that  point out how much better they did than us in Forbes statistical analysis ? Or is that particular insanity restricted to the shores of Narragansett Bay?

I have had it with statistics!