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Dear Editor:
The $3 million in cuts Noblesville Schools made last year should not be dismissed as something that can be repeated.
Those cuts have already meant reductions in staff and support services. The district has frozen administrative salaries, reduced positions, renegotiated contracts, and made other cuts. Yet, those changes are not close to the 20 percent cuts needed without a continuing referendum.
The referendum provides about $25 million annually (20 percent of Noblesville Schools’ operating funding). Without that funding, they are breaking down the potential 20 percent staffing reductions, including teachers, instructional assistants, bus drivers, maintenance/custodial staff, secretaries, and support staff. It also identifies potential reductions in counselors, social workers, special education, safety, transportation, academic programs, and extracurricular activities.
The question is what another massive reduction in operating revenue means for the teachers who educate, support, and protect our kids. A 20 percent loss of operating funding means fewer people, fewer services, and larger class sizes.
We can debate the referendum and the tax rate. But we should be honest about the consequences of removing roughly 20 percent of the district’s operating funding.
Dr. Chris Hartig
Noblesville
Those things should have been considered for eight years as decisions were made to spend unanticipated referendum funds.
Oh, we the parent, taxpayer & citizens of Noblesville are already hearing it…
Child comes home from school, crying; “If you don’t vote for it (the referendum), my teacher may lose their job !”
Notice that we’ve heard this before. Six (!) times before, and what do we have? More sports construction, NOT classes. More fancy ‘bronze plaque construction’ instead of functionality. Cost per student HIGHER than Carmel & Zionsville, without an appreciable increase in student academic accomplishment. Teachers who are paid higher than Carmel & Zionsville. (Teacher’s wages are available on-line, as are teachers contracts for you to review).
Same old story, again, and again, and again….. This is when we, the adults, have to tell schools “NO!”, just like when our children ‘think’ they run the show.