How do we find a real solution?

It is my opinion that our district is trying to take the "easy" way out of the budget shortfall that they are facing. They figure that by closing schools they can quickly slash $1.3 million a year from the budget. In reality, closing two schools is not going to solve the deeper problems that I see:

1. Lack of due diligence in all areas of the budget
   • The district spends excessively in some areas while underfunding others. There is little to no oversight to do a sanity check on what we pay for the services provided to us. While it is true that the lions share of the district budget goes to our teachers, this is not the place to cut. There are tens of millions of dollars spent every year to administer and operate this district. Every parent should be scouring the budget line items to hold the School Board accountable.
     
   • If we as parents independently audit where our tax dollars are going and find that the district is efficiently managing the resources that have been entrusted to them, then I fully support a local tax initiative to go on the ballot in November keep all of our schools open. I suspect, however, that we may find that there were many stones left "unturned" and additional taxes may not be necessary.
2. Reduction of Funding from the State Level
• This is out of our control at the local level. We should cross this bridge when we get to it. Every district will have to deal with this.
• Once we fully understand the impact in terms of a monetary amount of the reduction for our district, then we can discuss what to do about it. Right now it is all just guessing based upon the Governor's proposed budget.

The only real solutions to our district's budget issues will involve spending less, bringing in more, or a combination of both.  Let's work together to find a better alternative to school closure.