Dear Editor:

During the Troup County Board of Education meeting on Nov. 19, Superintendent Dr. Ed Smith and Mr. Don Miller informed the board of the current financial situation of the Troup County school system. Based on the current level of spending, the school system cannot remain fiscally sound. The system is facing a $4.1 million deficit for the approaching year and without considering budget changes the reserve account could be depleted by June 30, 2012.

There were six different options proposed for review at that meeting, one which includes converting West Side Magnet School to a K-5 school. This proposal would result in a saving of $564,786, a small portion of $4.1 million.

As a grandparent of a student at West Side Magnet School, I plead to the board to reconsider this decision. As a former board member, I understand that the board has a very hard job ahead of them in deciding how and where to cut the budget. But the one thing I know for sure is that there are other ways to save money than directly affecting the students at West Side Magnet School.

According to the school’s Web site, “West Side Magnet School provides a disciplined-based arts education based upon a strong academic foundation. A union of home, school and community cultivates each student’s intellectual and emotional growth, actively engaging all students in the learning process while providing an emphasis on the arts. Students are then empowered to become lifelong learners in order to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex society.”

Research on the role of art and music education confirms that reading skills are improved, enhances IQ, aides language processing, enhances mathematical skills and improves behavior. A child’s education is not complete unless it includes the arts.

Beyond losing the benefits of a fine arts magnet school, please consider the feelings of these students that will be uprooted and placed in other schools. The middle school years are delicate. I ask the board to please consider the emotional aspects of this move.

I have many questions and suggestions that I will address personally to the superintendent and Board of Education, some of which include cutting travel costs of employees (in 2008 this amount was approximately $250,000), restructure transportation so it is provided within a certain proximity around all schools, delay systemwide purchases of equipment and technology, cut budgets of all departments, reduce areas that include noninstructional personnel, use salaried staff as substitutes, cut central office staff to a four-day work week, use outside sources for funding ideas (e.g. LaGrange College) and increase revenue by searching for additional grants.

It is very important for the community to be informed and concerned about the budget shortfall. All parents and concerned citizens are encouraged to attend meetings and call the board members to voice your concerns. There will be a public hearing held at the Troup County Board of Education on Dec. 14. The public will be given a chance to speak on this issue that night. The board will vote on the budget recommendations on Dec. 17.

Following is a list of Troup County Board of Education members and their contact information: Daves Nichols (706) 884-4168, Alfred McNair (706) 884-2719, Robert Tatum (706) 882-2221, John Darden (706) 882-6507, Sheila Rowe (706) 884-5611, Debbie Burdette (706) 884-3610 and Dianne Matthews (706) 882-1226.

The students of Troup County are our future leaders. We should feel obligated to give them the best possible education. Please join me in asking the board to consider other alternatives than hurting our children.

“Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It’s like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won’t fatten the dog.” – Mark Twain

Regenia Andrews

LaGrange