At our June 12, 2003 meeting, we, the Lexington High School Student-Faculty Senate, passed the following resolution in response to votersí recent rejection of the tax override.
LHS will be impacted directly by the vote against the override in many ways. Presently, one projected budget cut is the equivalent of three existing teaching positions. Some classes, especially in the foreign language and social studies departments, are already filled to capacity. Losing teachers on top of being unable to hire new ones to meet enrollment increases will greatly affect teachersí workloads and studentsí classroom experiences. Among other cutbacks, LHS will lose a dean, a secretary, and a custodian next year. The physical education and art departments are particularly susceptible to cutbacks, and are likely to lose faculty positions.
Needless to say, the general opinion of the Senate on the vote is negative. We recognize that a tax increase during hard economic times is less than appealing to most voters, but the high quality of its public schools makes Lexington the valued community that it is. The students among us are deeply appreciative of the programs, teachers, administrators, and faculty that make our experience at LHS a valuable one. We regret our townís decision to reduce its support for our school and its faculty.
Sincerely,
The LHS Student-Faculty Senate