Back to the cutting board

The six school boards within the Free Press distribution area find themselves returning to a familiar, yet detestable, assignment: Cut more money from the education of our youth. This will be the third occasion for cuts since February 2009.

If USD 410 is required to cut $500,000 from its operational budget, as Superintendent Steve Noble predicts, that will mean a total reduction of around $1.18 million since 2008. In one sense, the cutbacks are continued fallout from the national economic crash, and could not be avoided. At the same time, is it necessary to lay the burden of the state?s budget problems on the backs of our children?

Before leaving office, Gov. Mark Parkin?son said the state had alternative solutions to the loss of federal stimulus funding after this school year. K-12 funding could have been protected. But that?s water under the political bridge. Boards will be forced to reduce spending, and students will take the hit. Gov. Brownback his budget will increase state funding for K-12 education, but he should not pretend that his stand is a heroic one, or that our children will not be hurt. ?DR

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