Letter to the Editor from Donald Weyer:
Batavia's public school system, the board, and the superintendent are wringing their collective hands and educated minds over the construction of a new school budget and how to leap over, or fill up, or hopefully not fall into and be buried, a looming budget gap in the near future. As a stakeholder, I offer the following, if not solutions, maybe just some simple thoughts:
- My child, now an adult, walked to and fro my residence contiguous to MacArthur Park to Jackson School daily for first grade through fifth grade, 1990-95. He did the same for Batavia Middle School and Batavia High School, with more hops, skips, and jumps than the trek to Jackson School! I just figured my child would gain more of a street-wise, public education by placing foot on the sidewalk than by peering out the window of a yellow school bus or a private vehicle. Maybe we should look at transportation policy and, significantly, its cost.
- Arriving at school, my child had all the school supplies he could possibly ever need or use. I know because I was responsible for purchasing them! Students financially unable to afford their school supplies can possibly be assisted by social or volunteer welfare organizations, assuming the role of the school system costs regarding school supplies.
- Halfway through my child's school day was lunchtime. I purchased the ingredients, packed my child's lunch, and sent it on its way in a brown paper lunch bag. The school system must certainly be assuming some costs, if only for the staff, of the subsidized free lunch program. Let's take a look at those costs. Free lunch would remain intact for those eligible.
- After-school sports programs require a scorecard to keep track of all the various teams, coaches, and players. Varsity, junior varsity, modified, female, and male. Maybe we should look at the cost of coaches, equipment, and transportation for this plethora of teams and conclude that we would do just as well with fewer teams. I applaud Batavia City Council President Jankowski for letting us know that his priorities for the city budget are Police, Fire, and Public Works. I know that the city is not directly involved with the school system budget, but, with words from Jankowski's mouth to mine, "I was upset a lot," that he didn't mention the children of Batavia and their education as his fourth concern!
