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Bethel’s Students Deserve More Resources
We feel the need to state what we hope is obvious, that Bethel schools are lead by capable and hard working administrators and filled with wonderful, hardworking teachers. What is also to us obvious is that a more engaged discussion needs to be held about how to improve outcomes for Bethel students and how to ensure that taxpayers’ investment in our schools is wisely spent.
With Bethel’s hardworking Superintendent of Schools earning the same as her counterpart in Meriden, a school system with more than 8,500 students compared to Bethel’s 3,100, and 13 schools compared to Bethel’s 5 schools, and Bethel’s annual budget increases over the past 10 years outpacing inflation by more than 32%, it is hard to not wonder if Bethel is spending its taxpayer’s money wisely or investing in the places that will ensure an excellent academic outcome for every Bethel school child.
It is absurd that in 2022 questioning the best tools for children’s education has somehow become equated with being anti-education or anti-children. Or anti-teacher Yet that is how some of the union lobbyists driving much of these increases want to frame the discussion.
Virtually all of the proposed school budget increase is going to raises and benefits for the staff that are paid, by the measure of the median Bethel income, astronomical rates. This doesn’t lower classroom size, accommodate additional students or improve graduation rates or test scores. It pays people earning between twice to more than five times the median pay of Bethel residents more. And More. And More.
New teachers account for 9% of this proposed budget increase. Raises for administrators and staff accounts for 45% of the increase. Benefits for the administrators and staff accounts for 31% of the proposed budget increase. This seems like a poor allocation of resources if the goal is to provide for more students and to do a better job of preparing the students for the future.
We know the school budget lobby will vilify us for asking questions that need to be asked, but they do need to be asked.
How does paying the 19 administrators an average of $170,000, 2.5 times the state average of $74,608, help students or taxpayers? Or teachers for that matter?
How does paying 1.6 times more per employee for benefits than the Connecticut average help add services for students? Or more teachers?
How does fielding 19 administrators, when the state average of 224 students per administrator would have Bethel at 14, provide for accommodating more incoming students? Or raising student performance levels?
How does giving an average raise of $12,000 per administrator help students achieve better? Just the raises for Bethel’s 19 administrators would add almost 3 more teachers.
Even in the tony, billionaire and movie star filled Hamptons, a school board vice president has said of this year’s school budget "Anything that we want to add has to come from somewhere else.”
Let’s be clear – Bethel needs to continue to work very hard to improve student outcomes. According to data provided by the schools, just 51.9% are ready for college entrance exams - meaning 435 students are not. Bethel students score 71.6 out of 100 on science performance measures and just 69.1 in math. And 5.1% of Bethel High School students are not on track to graduate. That’s 46 children not on track to graduate.
Bethel does not spend at the state average per pupil. But it seems that increases in spending add administrators and benefits instead of more teachers and better materials.
We think Bethel needs to have an open, ongoing discussion about how to improve student outcomes before continuing to throw good money at a problem that clearly is not being addressed as effectively as it needs to be.
Our town’s children deserve to be the first priority in our town’s educational efforts, not lost in the tussle for more money for administrators and staff with just crumbs for more teachers.
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