Most people realize that the majority of their elected officials have no common sense and, in Lewiston, that became obvious when the Lewiston School Committee voted to increase the school budget by 5.8 percent.
Do they think taxpayers have money trees in their backyards?
When was the last time residents got that kind of increase in their paychecks?
To make matters worse, the reason given for such an increase is a lie.
The School Committee is trying to convince people that the increase is needed in order to reduce class size. That won’t happen. All the increase will do is average the class size system-wide to 20 or 22 students in order to meet state requirements.
The classes that are currently 28 students or so will remain the same unless parents are willing to transfer their students to another school. There is no space in Lewiston’s school buildings to add more classrooms. Adding teachers to the current classrooms will not lower class size nor lessen disciplinary issues that affect learning. It could allow two individuals with different ideas and teaching styles to co-exist in one classroom, which is not always a plus and could confuse some students.
It must be kept in mind that next year the School Committee will be asking for another large increase in order to fund the proposed new school.
Lewiston residents should send a message to the School Committee — we cannot afford such an increase.
I will vote “no” on the school budget on May 12.
Jacqueline Smith, Lewiston
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