I am in general agreement with last Sunday’s editorial regarding the push for tax cuts ignoring other options. But while I support the general call to focus on areas “where public policy has repeatedly fallen short,” it seems like the newspaper’s focus is only on areas where there’s “a disconnect between supply of services and demand for those services.”

All fine and good, in a general way, but limited in that it fails to mention the archaic and underfunded program that purports to use state resources to assist cities and towns in replacing dilapidated public school facilities.

Simply put, the state program fully funds the building of three or four schools every few years, and the list of woefully inadequate facilities grows toward 100 statewide. In addition to using some of the current surplus to reduce the backlog, the regular funding program needs complete reassessment.

It’s surprising that (to my knowledge) the commissioner of education, the governor and members of both parties on the education committee have breathed not one public word about this issue that verges on a crisis, let alone propose a solution or a study to find one.

Richard Mersereau
Brunswick

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: