The Associated Press article noting some 41 percent of New York superintendents expect they won't be able to balance their schools' budgets within four years also implies a certain complacency ("Report: Insolvency looms for many school district," Nov. 21).
If I knew I couldn't balance my personal budget in two years, I'd be making changes now to address that foresight.
As the article indicates, however, state regulations often hamper local leaders' abilities to address such problems. Superintendents often can't control their largest cost — employees — because state laws set in stone salary schedules and raises. Most New Yorkers would love the same treatment, but it's entirely unrealistic.
It's ridiculous that, in the highest education spending state in the country, at $18,000 per pupil per year, superintendents say they cannot balance their budgets. Thousands of superintendents manage to do that with far less money.
JOY PULLMANN
Education research fellow
Heartland Institute
Chicago