Board of Education Deception: The False Choice We Should Reject

Here we go again.

The Manchester Board of Education, afraid that weary taxpayers (and the Town Board of Directors) will balk at another huge increase in their proposed operating budget, have resorted to a tactic they’ve successfully employed in the past. Rather than trying to defend their bloated maintenance and administrative costs, they choose instead to threaten Manchester families with children in the Town’s  public schools with the loss of music, art and sports programs.

Sure, they know that graduation rates are much higher among students that participate in these activities. And they know that students active in music, arts, and sports programs have a higher level of academic achievement.  And they know how important these extracurricular activities are both to students and the community. And that’s exactly why, rather than saying that a more reasonable budget increase might force them to cut administrative or maintenance staff (which would get the shrug of the shoulders it deserves from town residents!), they will attempt instead to incite the public by forcing them to envision a future devoid of these highly valued programs that are every bit as essential to a well-rounded educational experience as math, science, history and literature.

Of course, the BOE’s scare tactics are built around a false choice. Yes, times are tough and we can’t have everything we want in our public education system. But the core of what Town taxpayers have pledged to provide our Town’s youth – and make no mistake that core includes art, music and sports – can be preserved with a budget increase that is well below what the BOE is demanding.

The other ploy we can count on the BOE trotting out is their claim that the BOD wants to “cut the education budget.” This is, of course, untrue. The amount spent on education in Manchester has not been cut, and will not be cut this year. In question is only how big the increase will be. The amount spent on education In Manchester is equal to more than 80% of the residential tax base in Town and the rate of increase in education expenditures has been growing faster than overall Town expenditures.  And as every property owner knows, taxes in Manchester have been going up steadily.

I hope that Manchester residents dig in their heels. I hope they reject the false choice the BOE is offering. I hope they demand a reasonable increase in the BOE budget over last year without a disproportionate reduction in art, music and sports programs.  And I hope the Board of Directors stands firm as well.

In my opinion, in recent years the Manchester BOE was led by the nose by a Superintendent who kept everyone in the dark and was more concerned about her next job than the one she held. Together they engaged in “empire building” and made some poor decisions which now limit the options that are available to them – many of which they will find politically unpalatable (staff reductions, outsourcing, etc.) Yet these decisions CAN be made and they WILL result in a budget that preserves the core educational functions – including art, music and sports. And the Board of Education SHOULD have to make them – not be bailed out by the BOD and taxpayers yet again.

If they don’t, I hope that new BOE candidates will emerge and that Manchester’s voters will remember this BOE edition’s malfeasance when Election Day rolls around.