Community Commentary from Durham Resident

The below commentary is from Durham resident Roger Speidel looking into ORCSD costs and enrollments comparing them to other district within New Hampshire as well as other states.  This letter was also published in Foster's today as well.  The authors of the blog make no endorsement of the following.  We wish to publish all information that is submitted regardless of viewpoint.

In the past 10 years, the Oyster River School System has spent $48 million above the New Hampshire state average in per pupil cost per year. This overspending has cost each taxpayer in the Oyster River School District an average of $9,706. That's almost $1,000 per year. This is serious money. It's not the $150 cut to the school budget some of you wanted restored and are more than willing to pay.

The $48 million are the wasted dollars spent by the previous school boards as the Oyster River enrollment was declining by 300 students during the past 10 years. The present board is attempting to rectify this mishandling of taxpayer money, and all some of you want to do is squawk, without any specifics, about cuts "being bad."

Finland, the number 1 nation in world education spends $7,829 per student per year. How do they do it? Their classes are between 20 and 30 students each with all levels in the same class and the bright students teach the not-so-bright. What a great concept.

The Bow School System sends 80% of its seniors to 4-year colleges and they eliminated 11 teaching positions because of declining enrollment.

The number 3 ranked high school in America has a teacher/student ratio of 1 teacher to 23.7 students and it sends 95% of its seniors on to 4-year colleges.

The number 4 ranked high school in America has a teacher/student ratio of 1 teacher to 28 students and it sends 91% of its seniors on to 4 year colleges. And 20% of its students do not speak English in their homes.

Oyster River's 70% pales in comparison and it hasn't improved one single percent, even with a teacher/student ratio of 1 teacher to 11.6 students and all the money and additional teachers that have been poured into this school system in the past 10 years.

We do a lot of back-patting here, but in truth we're tucked way up in the boondocks of New England, in a state ranked 28th in the nation in education. That's in the bottom half, and we don't even know what it's like to compete with the big boys.

The average cost per pupil per year of the two nationally ranked high schools mentioned above is $11,580. Oyster River's cost is $15,510 per pupil and it can't come close to those nationally ranked schools that spend almost 1/3 less. For example, the college readiness index for the two schools cited is 100 (the highest rating). The college readiness index for Oyster River is 22.9. And do you realize there are 66 classes at Oyster River High School with fewer than 20 students and 12 of them have less than 10. No public school system can afford that!

The number 1 county in the state ranked first in the nation in education maintains the following class sizes in its high schools — 29 in English and 33 in all other subjects.

These are facts. By any sense of judgment, Oyster River is overpriced and overstaffed. The schools I've cited exemplify fiscal integrity combined with educational excellence. A good school system blends these two things in the best way to serve the students and the taxpayers with equal consideration.

And to sharpen that point, the 2011 New Hampshire "Schools of Excellence" provide educational excellence to their students for an average of $449 per pupil per year less than the state average. If Oyster River could operate at a cost equal to the 2011 "Schools of Excellence" in our own State, in the past 10 years it would have saved the Oyster River taxpayers $56,980,000.

The present School Board is attempting to bring fiscal sanity, for the first time in 10 years, to the Oyster River School System. And all some of you vocal citizens have to offer is, "cuts are bad." No statistics to back up your statements. No facts coming from you. Do some research before you rant and waste the School Board's time.

And, by the way, Dover is projected to gain 400 students in the next six years. Give that some thought when you are told that all of New England is losing enrollment.

Roger Speidel
Durham