In the nearby town of Plymouth, CT,
the town council recently approved a school budget that will spend more than
$23.7 million on public education for the 2015-16 fiscal year. This is a
$400,000 increase over what is being spent this year. In reaction to this,
assistant high school principal Amy Radke exclaimed in horror, “Never in my
wildest dreams would I believe this council would do that to the education
budget. I am ashamed. This is the beginning of the end of our education
system.”
Wait. What?! This little town is going
to spend $23.7 million in taxpayer money on education next year—400 grand more
than this year—and that is “the beginning of the end,” according to Ms. Radke?
Apparently Ms. Radke’s forte in the education world is not mathematics, but rather
fiction writing. It seems the final budget amount is about $200,000 less than
what the school board originally requested. (Not $200,000 less than what is
being spent this year, which would be a genuine reduction. But $200,000 less
than the proposed $600,000 increase, which of course means a net $400,000
increase. But only in the world of government spending can a $400,000 increase
be thought of as a shameful “cut.” Sheesh!)
Similar scenarios occur on a regular
basis all across the country. Is anybody beside me getting fed up with this charade,
where tax increases and spending increases are called “cuts,” and where
government employees have indignant hissy fits when the taxpayers do not
joyfully cough up every single penny that’s demanded? I have an idea how the town
of Plymouth can free up an extra $200,000 of funding: fire a certain hysterical
assistant principal. Her generous salary, health insurance, vacation days, sick
days, personal days, and pension contributions surely cost the town at least
200 grand per year. Just sayin'.
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