Letters to the Editor
Westminster residents says plead to the state, don't complain about local officials

To the Editor:

Just by taking a quick look at the local papers one can tell it is budget season again. Whenever money is tight, which is most years, one department attracts more than its fair share of attention. It seems whenever budget difficulties arise fingers automatically start to point toward the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District. Although the school district's budget represents a very large portion of the town's overall budget, and seems to only grow higher each year, neither school administrators nor the school committee should take the amount blame they do for increases in local taxes.

The blame for rising local taxes, at least for much of the school's portion, rests on the shoulders of our state and federal governments. Both state and federal governments have piled on their shares of mandates regarding education, ranging from No Child Left Behind to regional school transportation funding and special education. Originally these mandates were accompanied by promises of funding but the funding is never enforced as strictly as the new standards. State Senator Stephen Brewer (D-Barre) was quoted in Sunday's Telegram as saying that No Child Left Behind is currently under-funded by $44 billion.

As a regional school district AWRSD and other districts were told that by regionalizing the state would pay 100 percent of the district's busing costs, which they have not done for many years. Every time the state fails to fund transportation communities are forced to pick up the bill. The state is continuing to break this promise at a time when our district's regular education busing costs alone are expected to rise by over $250,000.

No Child Left Behind and regional transportation funding are just two out of many examples of underfunded mandates that are taking their tolls on our schools and town budgets. Instead of using our energy to constantly criticize the people running the school district, one of the best districts in Massachusetts, we should focus on holding our state and federal governments accountable for properly funding their mandates. Let us hold our paid representatives accountable for the problems they have caused, not the volunteers of the School Committee who are forced to play with the hand they are dealt.

Josh Schonborg

Westminster