On April 16, voters in Edison will have the opportunity to vote on the local school district budget. School budgets remain (in the districts that still hold them) the one government expense taxpayers are allowed to vote directly on. Voters need to be aware of the realities of education in today’s world and today’s economy. Education is a service-intensive endeavor; it’s inevitable that most of the money is going to go toward employees (educators) who perform that service. To point out how much of the budget is allocated to salaries misses the whole nature of the business of education.
In fact, despite an increasing bottom line for teacher salaries in Edison, individual teachers are taking home the same or less money than they did previously, because they are contributing more each year toward their medical costs and pensions. Other members of the education community, like the paraprofessionals, were cut so hard a few years ago that even with increases, their 2013-14 salaries will still not be up to the point they were 10 years ago. In addition, these paraprofessionals must face increasing medical insurance contributions and pension expenses, and they also face the same inflation in their daily lives that the taxpayers of Edison do.
There are misconceptions about today’s global education held by some voters. Our world, while ever increasing in population, is becoming smaller thanks to advances in transportation, communication and technology. Diversity is the wave of the future; multilingualism is the key to leadership for today’s youth. We no longer can afford to encourage learning one language over another. Limiting educational choices and opportunities is not an option.
The leadership and education professionals have done their best to provide a cutting edge education here in Edison in a fiscally prudent manner. They now need you to do your part. Vote “yes” on April 16. Let the over 14,000 students of the Edison school district know that you believe in their future. Keep Edison’s light burning.
Carol Bodofsky
Edison