Thank you, Peter, for voicing your concerns. I am the father of two young children. Our family resides in Lincoln.
The sentiment of this thread gives us pause. I welcome the opportunity to sit with you and learn from your experience raising your own children here in town. Congratulations and may the year ahead be your best yet. Sincerely, Ryan On Sun, Jan 22, 2023 at 8:18 AM Peter Buchthal <pbucht...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Hi all, > > > > I am the parent of three young children who attend the Lincoln Public > School. My wife and I moved to Lincoln right before my eldest was born in > large part because we believed our children would receive a strong public > education. I went to a great public school in NY and there’s no good > reason why Lincoln shouldn’t have one too. > > > > I want to thank Karla for sending her letter to the community. If you > haven’t read it, please do. It confirms much of what I have observed > through my children's own experiences. The data, both academic and > otherwise, is clear: our school is underperforming our outsized > investment. *We overspend every town nearly 2:1 to achieve results no > better than our neighbors.* In 2012, Lincoln K-8 educated 500 children > who lived in Lincoln, In 2022 we were down to 412 students from Lincoln, a > reduction of 20 percent. *During that time, our K-8 school expenses have > gone up the maximum allowed, or around 2.5% annually without an override*. > In 2014 we had 31 K-8 sections, in 2023 with 20% fewer Lincoln students, we > still have 31 K-8 sections. Moreover, almost all other school districts in > the Commonwealth are anticipating further enrollment declines. For > instance, in Newton, MA, they are planning for a 5% decline in enrollment > between 2021 and 2026. With Lincoln's high tax burden and high home costs, > it is reasonable to assume further enrollment declines. > > > > *With academic results currently no better than our neighbors, why do we > continue to overspend on our school when our enrollment continues to > decline? Have we reached the point to start to right-size our school > expenses to lower the tax burden to our community? * > > > > *It is clear our community needs to reform our school so the level of > results corresponds to our level of investment.* I am glad to hear we > already have three candidates competing for two open seats in the School > Committee. I want to thank Matina, Jake, and Adam for their generosity in > running for this volunteer role. I hope to use this public forum to ask > them a very straightforward question: > > > > Matina, Jake and Adam, as you are all running for the School Committee, *could > you please share your ideas that will * > > *a) reduce the fiscal burden of our schools, * > > *b) improve the educational experience of our students, in ways that > translate both into better academic outcomes and higher student engagement?* > > > > I look forward to all of your responses. Best of luck to you all. > > > > Peter Buchthal > > 71 Weston Rd > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > -- Sent from my iPhone
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