As a Croydon student, I think this new school budget is insane. It isn’t enough to provide a beneficial learning environment, keep a public school operating, or pay for other schools’ tuition. The school board has suggested “micro schools,” small groups of students monitored by a guide while taking courses online. The COVID-19 lockdowns and closings of schools in 2020 proved that this wouldn’t work well. Most students just can’t learn like that, and others who can, don’t enjoy it at all.
Part of being on the school board is making decisions in students’ best interests. This obviously doesn’t benefit students. The budget-cut and school closing would only benefit the Free State project’s goal of minimizing government. Decreasing education is a step in that direction. Students today will be running the country in a few decades; how can we be expected to do that if we’re uneducated and inexperienced? This issue affects everyone, so everyone should know about it. Education is one of the most valuable resources and should be provided for everyone in a way that helps students learn and understand. The school board needs to do what is best for students instead of focusing on personal gains. Since they failed to do that, there is another town meeting. Saturday, May 7th a meeting will be held at Camp Coniston at 9 a.m. If 283 Croydon citizens (50%t of registered voters) come and re-vote, this unrealistic budget could be changed.
Delia Leslie
Croydon