Regionalized schools can offer more

Sara Lambert, of Bordentown
    As a high school graduate from a small town, I have seen firsthand how budget cuts to education, both state and local, affect a child’s learning experience.
   Five years ago, when I first started high school, my school offered numerous clubs and after-school activities. When I reached my sophomore year, I slowly saw clubs begin to diminish, and by the time I was a junior, all clubs and freshman sports teams had disappeared.
   Not only were the extracurricular activities cut, but the academic programs began to suffer as well. Many of the school’s honors and advanced placement classes had to be cut due to financial issues.
   This may seem trivial to some, but it gives students who attend larger schools who still have these programs an edge when applying to a four-year college.
   The educational system as a whole needs reform. Small-town school districts should be regionalized along with their school boards. This would allow for better distribution of funds, and all students would benefit.
   Rather than having a county with four small schools in a 15-mile radius, it would help both the townships and the students if these schools were regionalized. Regionalization would allow taxpayers from these towns to pay toward one common school, eliminating the cost of four superintendents’ salaries, four high schools to maintain and so on. This should allow for more than enough money to keep sports, clubs and honors and advance placement courses in every high school, thus giving each student the opportunity to have a better overall high school experience.