Cuts to school aid do a disservice to kids

As a taxpayer and resident of the Chatham Central School District, I’m deeply concerned about the financial challenges facing our schools.

This year’s budget process, which resulted in the elimination of 12 staff positions and cuts to essential services like BOCES support and bus runs, highlights a troubling trend.

These cuts were necessary to close a significant gap caused by a reduction in state aid and rising healthcare costs. What’s worse, our district still had to raise taxes to the state-mandated cap just to balance the budget.

This flawed funding system forces our schools to do more with less; our children are ultimately paying the price.

We need our elected leaders to recognize that their constituents want a fully-funded, honest and safe education to be a right for all children. Cutting state aid and forcing our district to reduce staffing and services is not........

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