school district budget cuts

["Lois Melina" <lmelina@moscow.com>]

Editor:
	As the Moscow School District board of trustees considers the 1999-2000
budget, it needs to make cuts in such a way as to not contribute to the
problem of declining enrollment that has led to the current budget crisis
	Enrollment is declining is Moscow schools in large part because students
are being home-schooled or attending a growing number of private and
charter schools. Parents select those alternatives to the public schools
because they offer more individual attention, more academic rigor, more
discipline, and in some cases, religious instruction. 
	Moscow schools cannot and should not offer religious instruction. But they
can and should make sure that in cutting the budget they do not give
parents other justification for fleeing the public schools. Rather than
cutting teachers, as is proposed, Moscow schools should use the current
decline in enrollment to further cut class sizes, especially in grades K-3.
Not "average" class size. Not teacher: student ratios, but the actual
number of children in one room. 
	Not only does a smaller class size give students more individual
attention, but it often results in better discipline. Individual attention
also allows for more academic rigor. And smaller class sizes allow parents
and teachers to communicate more effectively, enabling parents to be more
involved in their children's education.
	Fortunately, the district has not proposed cutting the proposed increases
to next year's budget that would allow for more advanced classes at the
high school--a step that is long overdue and will likely keep high school
students from either leaving for other schools or graduating early.
	Idaho schools have not been funded so generously that a school district
like Moscow's can ever cut its budget by simply eliminating superfluous
expenses. Virtually everything in the current budget can be defended as
worthwhile, and every proposed cut criticized as one that will hurt
students.
	The decisions facing this district are therefore a matter of priorities.
Small classes are not only a proven way of effectively educating children,
but will keep students in the public schools, thereby preventing the need
for further budget cuts.
	I would like to be able to offer suggestions on what could be cut from the
budget instead of teachers, but my understanding from the district office
is that the budget is still being developed and is not available in a form
that patrons can easily peruse. Therefore, my only suggestion is that this
district hold not just one public meeting Tuesday night on the proposed
$700,000 in budget cuts, but a serious of meetings on different aspects of
the budget, including athletics, activities, transportation, books, and
other major expenses. In that way we can prioritize spending, perhaps
coming up with creative solutions to this important problem.

Lois Melina
1026 Kasper Road
Moscow ID 83843
882-1181
Lmelina@moscow.com