Vote 'yes' to maintain excellence in schools

To the Editor:

On Tuesday, June 20, we will have a second chance to vote on the budget-for the Bedford Central School District. The first -budget- proposal was voted down. in part, this was due to the unfortunate inertia of parents with children in public schools.

The original budget was defeated because understandable anxieties about the size of recent annual budget increases were fueled at the last minute by presentation! of statistics designed to make school staff, the school board and school supporters seem at best misguided and ineffectual, and at Worst self-serving and profligate.

The statistics are misleading. Yes, our teachers are paid well, but not out of tin e with other communities in Westchester County. And the per pupil cost of public education here would be considerably lower than the cost of private schooling if, like private schools, our schools were to receive free transportation and were able-to abandon services for students who require special education.

The sudden volley of statistics and opinions has focused attention on the value of public schooling in our community. What are we actually getting ,for our money? We are getting public schools that rank among the best in the country. We are getting graduates who go on to do well and do good. We are getting students whose achievements in fields from science to the arts bring honor and satisfaction to themselves, their families, their schools and their community. We are providing outstanding educational opportunities to a diverse group of young people, in the hopes that they will take their places as good citizens in the world that awaits them.

In the long term, we are investing in the quality of the future. By all means, let us pay attention to our investment and encourage excellence throughout the school system. Vote "yes" on budget Propositions I and 2 on Tuesday, June 20.

Pamela Shaw Redford Pound Ridge