The High Cost of Education

I believe I went to one of my first school board meetings with my now 10 month old son before the school year started or the first month of school. At that time someone bought up the fact that a number of students who do not live in Croydon were attending Croydon schools. With two school board members volunteering for the fire department you would think they would know the boundaries of Croydon. The fact that the issue was not addressed for so many months is disturbing. It is also a waste of Croydon taxpayer's hard earned dollars. During the next election I hope the people of Croydon will elect people who are more responsible with our tax dollars I also hope more fiscally responsible people will run for the school board.

Cathy


The following piece appeared in the Argus Champion.


Croydon News
The High Cost of Education
Anyone who ever attended an Annual School Meeting knows that the cost of a public education is going sky high. Last year Croydon paid for 93 student's education, for a total of $1,303,225.00. Problem is up to four of the students live in other towns. At the Annual School Meeting, Beth Campbell reported to the Croydon School Board and SAU that several of the kids listed as students in Croydon, actually lived in Grantham and Springfield NH.

Nothing happened with it until the April meeting of the Croydon School Board, when the SAU said it would investigate it. An investigation revealed that two families were sending their children to Newport Schools on Croydon's budget when the families live in Springfield and Grantham NH. To add insult to injury, one of the students is a special education student and uses the Special Ed. van.

The Croydon School Board is at a disadvantage, since parents can register children at the schools in Newport and give a Croydon address, and since most of the board members work full time it is hard to keep track of who is moving in and out of Croydon particularly if the students are in the 4-12 grades.

Currently the tuition rates per student to attend Newport are as follows: Elementary $10,691. 44 (grades 4-5) Middle School $10,197.20 (grades 6-8) High School $9,634.93 (grades 9-12). Tuition for Special Education was $55,000.00.