****
Dear Mr. Colter, Ms. Portalupi, and ORCSD Board Members,
I am a Durham resident, taxpayer, and parent of two young children who will soon be ORCSD (Oyster River Cooperative School District) students. As you may recall, I have written to you in the past about the ORCSD bidding process and what seems to be a lack of due diligence when it comes to soliciting multiple, competitive bids. I look forward to the ORCSD Board’s Policy Committee report regarding this topic.
Spending the District’s precious tax dollars wisely is a serious issue. I believe that the ORCSD can restore public confidence regarding District expenditures by instituting a process of accountability and best practices including competitive bidding. However, I am concerned about program and curriculum spending as well. In particular, I feel that it is imprudent at this time to put tax money into a full day kindergarten program when there are higher priority items that should be considered.
In my opinion, any additional funds or re-allocation of funds should be used towards improving the middle / high school curricula. There are significant program deficits (e.g. lack of strong honors, Advanced Placement and foreign language course offerings) that should be addressed and be considered a higher priority than full day kindergarten.
Moreover, there has not been public debate on the academic priorities for the School District. Open, public debate should occur prior to determining that full day kindergarten warrants funding, especially in lieu of the aforementioned curriculum improvements.
If there were unlimited educational funds, I would support full day kindergarten, but that is not the state of the ORCSD.
As parents and taxpayers, we need the biggest bang for our buck. In the long run, I simply do not believe a full day kindergarten program is the best option with the strongest long-term benefits.
