Editor’s note: This oped is by Matt Dunne, a former state senator and Democratic candidate for governor.
This week is Teacher Appreciation week, and we should all reflect on those teachers who challenged us and made us think differently about the world. Unfortunately, we must also watch closely and speak out in opposition to a radical plan made by the Dubie-Douglas team that will compromise our strong public schools.
By most standards, Vermont’s schools are doing very well and our success is due to the remarkable work of our teachers and our community-based school system.
Nevertheless, Governor Douglas insists we need to radically change Vermont’s school system. Under the umbrella of “Challenges for Change,” the Dubie-Douglas administration is claiming to improve educational outcomes and reduce costs by super-sizing school boards, creating cookie-cutter curricula, and fundamentally destroying the relationship between the community and education that has made Vermont’s schools strong.
This is not to say that change is not necessary. With a diminishing school population, we must find ways to modernize our education system. In addition, while we have a very strong public school program, we can always find areas for improvement. But the proposal offered by the Dubie-Douglas administration is not the change we need, and will only harm our schools, not improve them.
In these tough economic times, we must look for ways to trim budgets and lower costs. Anyone in the business world would tell you that the first place to look for savings is not at the point of delivery, namely our teachers, but instead on the back office and overhead administrative costs. By consolidating such expenses, there are some cost-saving measures that can be implemented without putting our strong educational system at risk.
On my website I have proposed several areas in which we can reduce costs – including reducing the number of superintendents by two-thirds to reduce overhead – while making sure our current fiscal challenges do not compromise the future of our state’s children.
To read about how we can make smart reductions you can visit my website,http://mattdunne.com/issues/ed…
We all appreciate the teachers who worked hard to provide us with a quality education. As we reflect on their influence on our lives we should also remember that it will be teachers who will be preparing the next generation of Vermonters. This Teacher Appreciation Day, ask Governor Douglas and Lieutenant Governor Dubie to show their appreciation for our teachers, parents and students by rethinking these radical changes to our educational system.
