By the Santa Barbara County Board of Education
The concept
of free and universal public education is the core of what makes our
country exceptional, and continues to be the envy of the world. For
generations, the adults did what was right for the generations that
followed. Today, we see a clear abrogation of that duty.
In classrooms
throughout our state and nation, children learn the skills essential
to their contributions to the democratic society they will enter as
adults. Young people today will fly the planes, repair the cars,
staff the emergency rooms, and make the policies that affect the
generation that follows. Their preparation and education are what
will make the difference between our success or failure as a society.
This is simple fact.
We are well
aware that our state faces a true fiscal crisis that was years in the
making and is staggering in its magnitude. There are no easy
solutions. Programs will need to be cut. Revenues will need to be
added. We are mindful that representatives at every level need to
make extremely difficult and wrenching choices. Every program
receiving state funds has fervent supporters who can argue
persuasively that those programs are vital. We respectfully submit
that not all institutions are equal. Public education is of a
different magnitude and impact.
We submit
that it is unacceptable and self-defeating for the state to abdicate
its responsibility to fund public schools at an adequate level.
Studies are unambiguous on the high correlation between a lack of
education and much more costly consequences, including crime,
poverty, the need for social services, incarcerations, law
enforcement. and other expensive interventions. That is the practical
need. There is also the moral need for societies to take care of
their children.
We
believe it is a moral imperative that those individuals who reaped
the rewards from the state’s earlier investment in an exceptional
education system do all they can to ensure that comparable
opportunities are available to young people today. The investment gap
is unconscionable.
While we do
not presume to tell legislators how
they will work the state’s budget to secure the funding necessary
to ensure our children receive the education they need and deserve,
we are stating emphatically that there is urgent need to do so.
The current
situation is unsustainable. Pared down levels of educational services
are not an option. The very fabric of our society is at stake. We
cannot lose a generation of young people simply because the adults
refused to act.
