The following post appeared in the Lexington Minuteman weekly newspaper as a Letter to the Editor on December 7, 2012.
On January 2, 2013, Lexington Public Schools will experience federal budget cuts of more than eight percent, affecting vital education programs beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, unless Congress intervenes.
The across-the-board cuts known as "sequestration" are the result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, mandating reductions in both defense and non-defense discretionary programs as a means of deficit reduction, with no consideration for vital investments in long-term economic growth. For school districts across the nation it will mean more than $4 billion in cuts to public education (pre-K through higher ed). Cuts to programs like Title I and Special Education (IDEA) are across the board reductions; highest-need schools and students will suffer most, as their share of federal funding is higher.
Education is vital to long-term economic health. Our community works hard to successfully educate college-, career-, and civic-ready students. The success in our own community should not be jeopardized because members in Congress are incapable of indentifying a responsible, balanced, and bipartisan approach to deficit reduction that preserves investments in vital services for children and families.
For our schools, sequestration will mean reduced personnel, larger class sizes, less access to intervention programs, cutbacks in professional development, and more. This will impact the overall quality of education for students and the overall economic health of our entire community.
Now is not the time for thoughtless, blunt reductions. Now is the time for leadership in Washington, DC. Join me in urging our own members of Congress to join with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to intervene and protect education. Deficit reduction is needed, and I am counting on Congress to sideline the bickering and reach consensus on a responsible approach that doesn't place disproportionate burden on students by decimating our national investment in education and long-term competitiveness.