Mar 7, 2018, Burlington, VT, CBS3: Cabot 1 of 5 Vt. towns to reject school budgets http://www.wcax.com/content/news/Cabot-1-of-5-Vt-towns-to-reject-school-budgets-476164963.html … The mood was different in Cabot, though. Voters there rejected the proposed $3.67 million school budget by a 345-236 margin. The budget was up $337,000 from the current year but 40 percent of that came from mandated special education costs. Superintendent Mark Tucker says the budget created a 29-cent increase in local property tax rates, meaning a person with a $200,000 home would pay $580 more. About 20 cents of it comes from penalties assessed by the state for spending more than the allowed per pupil. The school board will meet Monday to discuss next steps but Tucker says if lawmakers remove the penalty, the tax increase will drop to a level voters may approve.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.