That would cut a good chuck out of the budget. And assistant principals?? And “Deans of anything” seem like a waste? This is not a college or university.

What about the secret pro-school email lists that get sent out by the Administration. My neighbor is a big time pro-school supporter and says she gets emails all of the time. Is this true and has anyone asked about this under the right to know laws?

I was educated in classes of 35 +/- and I had no problem learning! What exactly is the problem today????

I just read the Budget Committee minutes from the 1/26 meeting. We can find out more on Monday night, but it appears that our school enrollment is NOT down 18% in grades 5-12. Therefore, I cannot support a reduction in teaching staff on those merits alone.

Government is not a business that should be looking to grow. It should shrink appropriately when enrollments decline.

If you want to cut, start from the top –

Administrators and ’special’ instruction overseers who walk the halls and ‘advise’ other teachers but who don’t actually teach. You’ll see a lot of those I’ll bet

Have the guts to say NO to programs that are offered for money but come with strings.

Have the guts to demand that if something is required by the state or feds, to fight it in court as unconstitutional, or at least demand the money if it is unfunded, also illegal.

And have the guts to listen to teachers who tell you that the methods touted as ‘best practices’ just do NOT WORK.

Get rid of the political agenda — we are not here to teach kids about socialism, the redistribution of the wealth, to succumb to world government, or to be community organizers. However, since 1946, that’s been the agenda of public schools.

Gee, a report from Columbia, I wonder how objective they were in writing it? Did they focus on big, failing, urban schools, or ones like what we have here in Bow?

This is the issue, enrollment is down 18% (I’ll have to see the numbers for myself on this one) If this is right, we should take the current staff back to what it was when the numbers were 18% less. We hired when we needed to, approved those budgets, now can we make an adjustment? Is it really a problem to have 20-21 kids in the HS classes? In a town like ours we don’t need to waste just because “we’ve always done it that way” I guarantee unless they are going to New England College in Henniker, there will be more than 20 students in a class. I don’t agree w/ a cut beyond what is reasonable. The education of our kids is very important. Not every class will have over 20 kids. Personally, I would rather have 2-3 more kids in a class and have some money to make curriculum and school improvements. How about a sports track at the Middle School, painted tarmac at the elementary school for recess activities, anti-bullying curriculum. This is in addition to upgraded IT equipment. Maybe the big spenders in town have large open homes and their kids are not used to tight quarters and sharing bedrooms and bathrooms. Mine are not that priviledged.

I’m all for education, but I also see For Sale signs sprining up everywhere.

I know the issues inside and out. The trouble is, does the school board even listen to the voters?

Only someone who works within the system sees the true picture of how education is delivered.

NECAP scores are not what they seem — they are based on standards that get a D-. Listen to this researcher who knows her stuff…

http://www.nhtaxpayerradio.com/othermedia/Banfield_NECAP.mp3

I would like to bring your attention to some very astute 2009 graduates of BHS who recently wrote that a 2005 Columbia University study stated that small class sizes are the most cost-effective in the long run. Class size reduction is one of the five “successful interventions” that improve education, decrease dropouts, and increase productivity. In order to achieve small class sizes, money must be spent to keep and hire good teachers and give then the tools with which to teach in the 21st century.

As far as cost per pupil – the State average is $13,521 – in Bow we spend $12,013. In addition to being below the State average, we are also below the average of towns with comparable NECAP scores. Before you get all up in arms, yes, Bow’s cost is higher when compared to geographic neighboring districts, however, neighboring districts DO NOT score comparable to Bow on the NECAP.

We are slowly becoming an average school district and myself as well as many others in this town will not go down without a fight!!

http://gunowners.org/fs0306.htm

All classrooms are made up of low, middle and high learners I agree, so why then must it be a one-size fits all situation? The reason it’s impossible is the lousy methods they are touting as ‘best practices’. These are created by psychologists to bring about an attitudinal change, NOT to teach skills and knowledge.

You should be happy that there is at least one teacher who wants to keep teaching instead of swallowing all these expensive fads that have failed our kids.

Telling me that EVERYONE benefits from children who are well educated and contributing members of our society is an old cliche that is overused. It’s like saying eating food will stop me from being hungry.

Numerous studies have shown repeatedly that there is NO, NONE, NADA, ZIP correlation between money spent and quality of education.

While spending per pupil has more than doubled, reading scores have remained relatively flat. In fact, you will also see that during years when ‘reforms’ were pushed, test scores actually went DOWN. Is it any wonder when we are taught NOT to teach?

http://www.heritage.org/research/Education/bg2179.cfm

Some towns in NH are spending more tha $17K per child per year!

Secondly, EVERYONE benefits from children who are well educated and contributing members of our society and yes, there is a correlation between money spent and quality of education. When money is cut that equals teachers being cut which will in turn continue to increase class sizes. In this case, size matters!!