Hi folks. Just wanted to check in after a long absence to tell you how terrific it is to be able to always return to this oasis of progressivism. I lurk a lot, and don't have much to say about Orange issues these days. But the very fact you exist is encouraging.
We're in the middle of a school fight in Chatham. Lots of money to be cut out of the budget, and we're all fighting over who will bear the brunt. The last skirmish was over whether smaller and more expensive K-8 schools should be consolidated in order to save services and teaching positions for the most kids. This became, somewhat inevitably, an argument between two sets of parents: those with children at the smaller schools, who have more resources and a predominantly white and middle class school population; and the parents, like me, whose kids attend an elementary school that is majority Latino and African American, where 85% of the kids are eligible for free-or-reduced lunches and 60% are English language learners. It's unfortunate it came to a fight between parents, but there you have it. And if I had a nickel for every time I was accused of playing the race card...
But anyway, our fight continues as we advocate for equity in school funding. It's unacceptable that poor and minority kids have been concentrated in a few schools, and made to do with less support in per-pupil expenditures -- quite a lot less, in fact.
So, keep us in Chatham in mind as the weeks roll on, and if you're of a mind, please support us.
Issues:
