Plea to No and Undecided voters

We are not paying our teachers too much.  Dr. Sawyer said at school committee meeting that our teachers are paid “in the middle” when compared to other MA towns.   The following facts are much more informative than what we pay our teachers.    Due to consistent cuts we have far fewer teachers per student than other towns.    Per student expenditure in Shrewsbury is  bottom  11% in the  state.   Our resources spent per pupil are bottom 2%.    We rank 390th out of 403 school districts in student/teacher ratio.  Due to our lack of contributing our fair share to our schools, the state has taken away a percentage of our state aid.   We have allowed our schools to become impoverished, even though our town is affluent.   Our MCAS scores have declined, causing  a downgrade of the schools from Level  1 to Level 2.   Our taxes are thousands of dollars less a year than surrounding towns and Shrewsbury will remain one lowest tax rates in the area even if the over-ride passes.  Our town has been amazing at doing a lot with a little, but we have hit the breaking point.  

I encourage you to go the MA Department of Education website  to see where we fall for per student expenditure in Shrewsbury.  We are $2,364 below the state average and spend far less per pupil than less affluent towns such as Fall River, New Bedford, Lawrence, Lowell, Framingham, Springfield, Holyoke and Worcester.   When you break this down we are significantly below the state average in expenditures for administration, professional development, resources and YES even insurance  and retirement costs for staff per pupil,($1356 per pupil Shrewsbury vs state average at $2364).

More heartbreaking than the statistics is what is I see as a parent.  Oversized classrooms mean that many children’s questions  remain unanswered,  raised hands are rarely called on, one on one teacher support is almost non-existent and writing skills are failing.   The basic education that younger children need to move to the higher grades successfully is being eroded.   

If the over-ride fails there will be more cuts to our beleaguered system.    Our vote on June 3rd will determine the future of our schools and our community.   Families that value education are already leaving.   Parents that care about the schools for their children will choose other towns.   The fabric of our community will change.    I urge you to do your research and vote yes on June 3rd.  

Pam Marshall

Shrewsbury Resident