Editor,
This endless increasing of property taxes has simply got to stop in this city. Every year we are asked to bail out Albuquerque Public Schools and its latest crisis. Voters have historically voted in favor of raising their property taxes to satisfy the needs of APS to equip classrooms with better equipment and fix older buildings, yet every year we hear that the problems still are not being fixed.
Now APS wants laptop computers and a full Internet system. Will these computers help students learn to read and write? Will these laptops prevent students from dropping out of school? I really do not believe so.
Teachers continually speak of overcrowded classrooms and lack of teaching supplies. When classrooms were running out of books, the APS administration continued to grow. When older buildings began to fall apart, APS administration continued to grow.
As classrooms became overcrowded, APS administration continued to grow. I have visited many schools throughout the city and have seen very few administrators in portable buildings and lacking in supplies.
APS needs to get their priorities in order. They need to "budget" for growth and maintenance, not simply react to it when it hits a crisis level.
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APS needs to put students and teachers first on the budget list, not throw them the crumbs that are left over.
Voting in favor of the upcoming bond issue is not supportive of the public school system, it is supportive of a system that has allowed children to come second to the administration and wasteful spending. Voting for a tax increase during these difficult times is a poor move.
If you feel that laptop computers are really that important to your child's learning process, then vote "no." Take your tax savings and finance your own computer so that your child can have unlimited access.
Ted Studerus
UNM student
