It has been a bleak summer in Dekalb county Georgia. The school board has had to make deep cuts due to a large budget deficit. Why are we in this mess? Part of it is due to mis-management and most of it is due to the economy. When homes are in foreclosure and the price of homes plummets- the tax collected on property also declines. We are paid by the tax collected on property and this is simply less than it used to be.
I have watched friends at the county office, Fernbank science center, half-day retirees all been cut from the Dekalb county payroll. Many of these talented teachers and administrators are the smartest,most diligent and effective teachers I know. They have a lot of experience and therefore get the highest paychecks and are the top of the chopping list. This is very unfortunate because the students will suffer from this loss.
There are other ways to make cuts. Do we really need to pay for sports? Why not make extracurricular activities optional and charge the students for participation? Collect money that will cover the cost of the coaching, field maintenance, transportation and equipment and cut costs this way. Why is football the most important activity at our school? Why is the most important position that was filled last year the new football coach? Does anyone realize that our best students are academically competitive with any others from around the country? We do send students to Ivy league schools. Shouldn't this be the most important fact we are concerned with?
I was a coach and I realize that sports are important to the health and character building within our young students. I also realize that it is difficult to pay expensive booster club fees if the school system doesn't subsidize the teams. But shouldn't budget cuts focus on all aspects of the budget?
What do you think?
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