Editor:

We keep hearing how we are short school funding, because of state aid shortfall. You never seem to hear of plans to cut costs and offer voluntary reduction in spending.

The school district has a special late night school bus to take extracurricular students home late on school nights. We have over 40 sport related extracurricular activities all needing coaches, assistant coaches, security and cleanup after classes.

I understanding bicycling and kayaking etc. are offered at Rhinelander. Just think of the cost of purchasing, maintaining, storing of these items, let alone the cost of a van or trailer to haul kayaks etc. These activities are off school grounds, needing additional security and supervision. Need these be taxpayers’ expenses?
Some parents don’t see their kids from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It seems like taxpayer-funded high school day care.

How do you ask seniors, retirees and the disabled that live on fixed incomes, say $10,000 to $20,000 per year, to pay salaries of $60,000 t0 $100,000 per year?

The last referendum was voted down twice before passing. What does that tell you? After a while, people lose trust in their vote.

With all that in mind, I would think there are better things to cut than close our rural schools. It’s time to stop this runaway spending.

Don Duchow, Harshaw