Parents ‘do raise their own children'

To The Editor: Please allow this letter to serve as a response to “Ten ways to cut school taxes in half.” I can only assume that Mr. Murphy does not have children to write such a letter concerning cutting school taxes. Teachers are the educators and role models of our children and to whom share a large part of shaping them into the adults of our future. Your letter reads as if teachers are an overpaid occupation that does not deserve the benefits of health care and retirement plans. I assure you they are usually underpaid for what they do and continue to do so for the gratification of giving knowledge as a profession. To eliminate all sports programs is absurd. Sports teaches our children discipline, sportsmanship and being part of a team. It keeps our children focused on an activity and out of harms way by occupying their time opposed to being online, playing video games and even drug use. Re-powering older school buses is fine as long as they are safe, have passed all necessary inspections and are clean of any pollutants older vehicles tend to expose. I believe most people would rather our children be transported in newer, safe vehicles then older, constant mechanically worked on ones. A 30+ class sizes? Are you truly going to compare the attention span of a child to a college student? Smaller classrooms has academically proven itself over and over again that children learn more and achieve higher test scores when in a smaller classroom environment. Individual attention can make or break a child’s academic career. Before and after school programs are essential in today’s day and age. Most households are run on a two-family income to survive. For those who are fortunate enough to not need these services, such as myself, I am very thankful to be home for my child - however, I am also very thankful that there are programs with able adults to care for children with an overabundance of activities during these hours to assist parents until it is they return home from work where they do raise their own children. Donna Barbieri Florida