‘I wish I could say you’re welcome’

In response to the “thank-you” from our school’s superintendent, as well as from the board of education, I wish I could say that “you’re welcome.”

Firstly, I would like to say that I think that our teachers do a first-rate job with our kids.

However, at what price? Given the $80,000,000 budget that was approved, has anyone ever stopped to think of what the cost per pupil is?

Using the school’s own figures, a total student population of 3,877 pupils yields a cost per student of $20,600.

That is more than $5,800 more that it would cost you to get your kid through the State University of New York ($14,760 including books, fees, transportation, etc…).

That means in this town, getting a kindergarten education costs more than a college one.

The average overall class size of 22 kids costs over $450,000 per year to run.

What exactly is wrong with this picture?

According to board estimates (note all of this information was taken from the school’s Web site), roughly 75 percent of the budget goes to salaries, benefits and retirement packages for the 631 employees of the Warwick Valley School system, or approximately $60,000,000.

That works out to about $95,087 per employee - janitor staff, security staff, administrative staff included.

Now if you note that there are 180 primary full-time teachers, thus 451 are support staff in one form or another, or over two support staff for every teacher.

Again, is there something amiss here?

In the economic climate that we presently have, these numbers, in my opinion, are problematic.

And unless they are honestly addressed, I am afraid that the tax burden that most of us face in this town will soon, if not already, become unbearable.

Contracts simply need to be renegotiated. We are now in a different paradigm, and business as usual just doesn’t cut it.

Jerald A. Berman Warwick