Giving credit where credit is due

To the editor: In less than two weeks, I will be sending my youngest daughter off to college. June 2005 marked the end of an era for our family when she graduated from Warwick Valley High School. I thought of the many years invested by so many people in my daughters' education - myself, their father and stepfather, themselves, and the various teachers they've had along the way. While education really is a partnership between parents, students and teacher - and I can take credit for my part - I must also give credit both to my daughters and to the Warwick Valley Central School District. Almost without exception, my three girls have had the great fortune to have had dedicated, caring professionals guiding them through the often turbulent years to adulthood. Some teachers and coaches have stood out from the others and I thank them for their efforts - and count them as friends. I attended the Sports Awards Banquet with my daughter in June. I listened as team after team was recognized for achieving awards for scholar-athlete status - GPAs of 90 and above. It was such a tribute - to them, their teachers and coaches. I witnessed the standing ovation for Tim St. Lawrence, who retired this year. I know how this man exemplifies all that is good about Warwick schools. I've never seen him without a smile and kind words for every kid he sees - and he knows all of their names! I was sad to see the budget fail. As a former school board member, I know the agonizing that goes into an austerity budget and how it ultimately affects the kids. I know it's the only tax that people get to vote on and I understand the knee-jerk reaction. I truly hope that a better funding system will be enacted to avoid punishing the schools for the sins of the politicians in Albany. People have said to me, "Why do you still care? Your kids are finished with Warwick Schools." I simply don't understand that rationale any more than I understand parents and even teachers not voting - or voting no - on the budget. Children are our future and education is far less expensive than the consequences of ignorance, which ultimately enacts far higher taxes for unemployment, welfare and even prison. Thank you, Warwick Schools, for your part in nurturing my daughters' minds and bodies for the past 14 years. Sincerely, Susan Miller Warwick