Our Children Deserve a PSB Budget that Prioritizes THEM

We live in Brookline because of the quality of the public education in Brookline. If it deteriorates not just the appeal of the schools will go down, but the appeal of the town itself will suffer.

BHS does not need less teachers. In this digital age we are now in need of more help than ever before.

I am strongly against budget cuts to PSB. Our children are most important. The PUBLIC schools are what make our community strong.

I am disappointed that the proposed cuts are hitting such core programs as conservatory and having sufficient teachers and teacher's aides

Me and my husband who works for the Brookline school district agree with you 100%.

I support all that is in this petition. Please do not cut more from our students. The continued cuts are not only hurting our students, but the ability of Brookline schools to continue attracting students.

Kids first.

Lincoln parent. I am already so disappointed that the town got rid of Foreign Languages for K-5 and did so without much warning. These cuts need to stop!

The excellet schools of Brookline are the cornerstone of the whole community and indeed this wonderful town. Hurting the quality of the education in Brookline shpuld be the very last resort.

I am in favor of at least one full time officer being assigned to the high school, with a back up to cover should that officer be off!

This is outrageous.

The public needs to know how the budget deficit came about. What Brookline has and needs is high quality education, and that means the budget must support our excellent teachers.

We need to balance the budget, but the current proposal is way out of whack.

I am sickened by what I’m seeing in Brookline. We will Not stand idly by!!

Lawrence Parent

Central Office staff has been increased almost 100% since Dr. Guillory started, 16 to 28. Yet, there has been no increase in enrollment to support such increases. The SC has also noted that without "increased revenue" cuts need to be made. This is categorically false. School districts do not depend on revenue. A good Superintendent and SC should be able to provide a high-quality education simply by receiving Net School Spending. Revenues would be in addition to Net School Spending and would be an added bonus to utilize increased services for students. Brookline Public Schools needs to audit central offices and make cuts there before they touch any student-facing positons. There then needs to be a serious discussion as to why both the Superintendent and SC failed in their primary role of overseeing the budget.

Please review the full budget (including line items) to make these difficult funding decisions. Your vote reflects your education values. You should be fearless in asking questions and demanding answers to any and all the information you need to make decisions grounded in classroom-facing needs. What PD can be cut? Stipends? Subscriptions and curriculum? Central office positions? Every 20-30k counts as it equates, very quickly, to a teacher or para Expenses tied to initiatives driven by the Central Office should be very closely examined to ensure there is evidence-based support for the classroom impact.

Lawrence & BHS parent

The conservatory program was instrumental in our sons’ education and laid a critical foundation for their cultural education and social-emotional development. Brookline really stands out compared to other communities in the Commonwealth and I’m convinced it is because the foundation of music education begins and is supported with talented, passionate educators from 4th grade onward. It would be devastating to see the program cut.

It’s unacceptable that admin are cutting programs for students instead of finding other cost-saving measures elsewhere.