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The Watchung Hills Regional High
School budget was defeated this
week. Many voters may not have
understood the real cost of what
they were voting for or against.
On the
surface, the $8 million for
Watchung's K-8 must seem like at
bargain to Watchung voters in
comparison with the $23 million
requested by the high school.
But Watchung voters will pay the
entire $8 million, which is
about $4,400 per household, an
increase of $371. Meanwhile, the
high school's $23 million is
split with 23 percent from
Watchung, 55 percent from Warren
and 22 percent from Long Hill.
For Watchung, that is $2,232 per
average household, an increase
of $179. For a Warren household,
the high school was an even
better deal -- a $75 increase
brought it to $2,080 per average
household.
This is the
second year the high-school
budget has been defeated by the
voters. Maintaining the quality
of your schools is like keeping
up your house. If you don't pay
for maintenance, the structure
will degrade, and the house
becomes unpleasant to live in or
won't sell for a good price. And
in the long run, you pay more.
As a college
professor for more than 22
years, I see the difference in
the preparedness of students
from better neighborhoods that
keep their schools in good
"repair" versus less fortunate
students. It is sad to see young
people struggle to learn the
material because they come from
schools with large class sizes
and inadequate or antiquated
books.
Watchung
Regional High School is destined
to be one of these undesirable
places unless the town councils
do the right thing and fund the
complete budget. The high-school
administration already made many
reasonable cuts before
submitting the budget.
Watchung
Hills Regional High School
already has the lowest cost per
student for its socioeconomic
group. Next year, there will be
a 6 percent increase in the
number of students at the high
school. Schools are suffering
from the same price increases in
fuel oil and health benefits
that we all are. More than 86
percent of the budget is fixed
-- teachers must be paid, snow
must be removed from parking
lots, etc.
Do the
residents really want to degrade
the education and eliminate
sports or busing? Do they want
to make Watchung Hills a less
desirable school to attend and
thus a less desirable community
in which to live? I certainly do
not.
MAUREEN
GREENBAUM
Watchung |
