School budget hikes not the answer

To the editor,

June 13 will be voting day for the school budget. The school department is asking for about a 9 percent hike in its budget. That means higher property taxes.

South Portland High School used to be one of the best high schools in the state, but not anymore.

According to U.S. News and World Report and School Digger websites, South Portland High School now ranks No. 96 of 98. It is now one of the worst for proficiency in every area in the entire state of Maine.

It would be easy to blame the abysmal record on the immigrants, but the school began its current decline before South Portland became a sanctuary city. The truth is the school department is not doing the job we pay for.

We can’t see the curriculum as it is kept from anyone who wants to see it. The curriculum is described on the school department website in such vague terms it tells you nothing. We can see the results though.

The city is spending over $15,000 per student for 64 percent reading proficiency and 39 percent in mathematics. About half the students who graduate and go on to secondary education have to take remedial classes and they pay college tuition rates for them.

Why should we give the school automatic raises every year? No one in a job outside the government gets automatic raises and if we showed the same sort of results the school is now showing we’d be out of jobs.

Throwing more money at the schools isn’t solving anything. It hasn’t ever.

Vote no on the school budget.

Kandi-Lee Hoy

South Portland

Grateful for SpringFest support

To the editor,

I want to take this opportunity to express sincere gratitude to the entire community for the overwhelming success of South Portland SpringFest ’23. This incredible celebration brought together more than 3,000 individuals of all ages, creating an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

We owe the success of this event to the unwavering support of our local business community, nonprofit partners, talented local artists, the South Portland High School JMG students, the South Portland and Cape Elizabeth libraries, and the city of South Portland. Your collective efforts made SpringFest ’23 a resounding triumph, and we cannot thank you enough for your invaluable contributions.

We want to thank all the attendees who joined us during this extraordinary celebration. Your presence added a layer of joy and excitement to the festivities, and we genuinely hope you had a gnome-ingly great time. Witnessing the enthusiasm and participation of each one of you was truly inspiring.

Looking ahead, we are thrilled to announce that SpringFest will be a continued tradition, and we are already brimming with exciting ideas for SpringFest ’24. We are eager to build upon the success of this year and create an even more spectacular event for the community to enjoy.

Once again, we extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who made South Portland SpringFest ’23 a resounding success. Together, we have demonstrated the power of collaboration and celebration, for the love of community.

Sari Greene

South Portland – Cape Elizabeth Rotary

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