WindsorWatch, emerging from a long period of dormancy, has an article up this week summarizing the results of state standardized school testing with regards to the local school system:
The bad news is that Windsor’s tenth grade composite test score dropped significantly from the 2004 result. The good news is that there is not too much farther to fall.
This article comes as we’re within a few weeks of having a town referendum on the local budget. If passed, our mill rate will increase 6.5%, with much (most?) of the increase going to support contract-mandated increases to the Board of Education budget. Local property taxes aren’t cheap as it is (it’s Connecticut, after all), so I’m somewhat grumpy over further increases.
It’d be one thing if we were being asked to chip in a bit more and were getting our money’s worth. However, I’m not sure that’s the case.
While I certainly agree with the idea that, in general, we pay our educators tragicly little for the jobs we ask them to do….well, in the business world, changes in salaries are based on merit. If you do a good job, you’re rewarded. If you don’t do a good job, you’re replaced.
I can’t help but wonder if my tax hike is a product of (essentially) perceived entitlement, rather than actual merit….particularly in light of disappointing academic performance from our schools.