For several generations public school advocates have successfully campaigned for more and more time in front of our children. Career-minded parents have been all too willing to hand kids over to a burgeoning system requiring more teachers, educational technicians, psychologists, administrators and other support staff. Unnecessarily small class sizes, promoted by teacher unions, seem to justify huge school payrolls to a typically uninformed and uninvolved public.

I started first grade in 1955 with a class size of about 30, shrinking to 25 in high school. My five brothers and sisters suffered the same mistreatment, but somehow all managed to graduate from college and lead productive lives. Regional School Unit 5 – Durham, Freeport and Pownal – has been expanding its footprint for a decade. Last year we added 19 students and six teachers!

All this happens on the backs of taxpayers. Durham taxes have gone up 5 to 10 percent a year during that decade, with school spending 73 percent of our budget. Even with all this money, public schools have produced a less educated and less civil society than in my school years.

This year, RSU 5 is asking for $1.2 million more than last year. It reveals unprecedented greed in these times when taxpayers have lost jobs and with our largest business taxpayer losing significant income. I’m not surprised.

I urge voters in RSU 5 to say “no” to this budget at the July 14 referendum. Fairness demands less spending this year, not more.

Neil Berry

Durham

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