Opinion: “Don’t Blame the Schools”

Submitted by: Sara Mason Ader

Reading the Opinion letters in the Hingham Journal recently, I was struck by how many letters focused on the clear need for better facilities for our seniors. I couldn’t agree more that Hingham’s senior population deserves a great deal more than they’re getting.

I was deeply disheartened, however, that some of the letters pointed fingers at the School Budget as the reason for the lack of senior services. That assertion could not be farther from the truth. The reason seniors don’t have adequate services in this town is the same reason the Police, Fire, Library, Country Club and other town departments all lack adequate resources: This town has a revenue shortfall, as well as a long history of pitting core departments against each other to fight for their share of funds—rather than finding innovative ways to increase the overall pot for the benefit of all citizens.

The recent letters correctly pointed out the School Department comprises the largest portion of town expenditures. That is as it should be, given national and state mandates requiring education for our youngest citizens, who must spend eight hours a day/five days a week in our school buildings 180 days per year, whether they like it or not.

The Hingham School Department is by far the largest employer in town--managing a fleet of buses, running large-scale food service operations and overseeing numerous properties and facilities. All of this is made more challenging as national and state regulations are continuously changing, mostly adding to curriculum requirements and testing burdens. Technology needs are increasing, and sadly, security has become a major issue for schools. All of these factors have served to ratchet up School Department expenses significantly in recent years.

Anyone with experience in our school buildings would know that in some cases, we are barely getting by. Setting aside the problem of the entire Foster School building, numerous concerns exist in the other buildings. Boiler breakdowns at the high school, problematic windows at Plymouth River, space limitations at all buildings, a vocational building that is currently unusable, an aging roof at South School—not to mention the lack of space and leaking ceilings at the central office—these are a sampling of the issues currently facing the School Department.

Given all the championships you see our sports teams winning, you might assume we are spending crazy amounts of on the athletic budget. You would be wrong. Hingham’s sports program has been woefully underfunded for so long that parents ages ago stepped in with sophisticated booster organizations, along with a town-wide Hingham Sports Partnership. These groups provide tremendous amounts of private funding for our athletic programs. They fund coaching stipends, field and ice time, equipment, uniforms, summer programs, field maintenance and just about anything else our winning teams require. Local businesses also often provide support.

Similarly, the PTOs at each of the schools provide funds to supplement the underfunded school budget. When the town did not support fixing dangerously broken playground equipment on the Foster School playground, instead taping it off with yellow tape in the hopes of deterring young explorers from getting hurt (and parents from suing the town), the Foster School PTO stepped in a few years ago and spent well over $35,000 to remedy the problem. Each PTO organization funds grants for teachers to buy necessary classroom equipment, enhance curriculum, and fund special projects. The PTOs fund tutoring programs, purchase supplies and pay for some building upkeep.

The Hingham Education Foundation is another non-profit that also provides funding where the School Department’s budget falls short. The latest HEF initiative brought digital literacy to the classroom because no funding was available through the school budget. Digital literacy is a requirement for today’s students, and this was all funded privately through HEF.

During the recession of 2008-2009, funding for the performing arts was decimated. Drama and music parents stepped in to fill budget gaps to ensure HHS drama and music could continue in a meaningful way for the entire town to enjoy. This funding has never been replaced in the School Budget and continues to be shouldered by the Hingham Music Parents Association and the Hingham Parents for Drama organizations.

Altogether, these private organizations contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to support our schools and to enhance learning for our youngest citizens. By doing so, they have served to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Year after year, Hingham takes great pride in the superior academic, athletic and musical accomplishments of our students. But let’s be clear—these results are happening not only because of our dedicated faculty and staff, but also because Hingham attracts families that value education. This is not happening because our tax dollars are fully funding the needs of our school system.

Relative to other towns, Hingham ranks 20th out of 20 benchmark towns in terms of per pupil expenditure. That’s been the case for years, and it’s what consistently holds us far back in the rankings that compare districts across the state.

So, depending on how you look at things, you might say we are doing well as a town by penny pinching the School Budget. But, if we are a town that values education and aims to fund an academically robust school system for all students in adequate facilities, then we are hanging on by our teeth—largely propped up by the generosity of our parent and booster community.

I don’t have any easy answers, except to say we should be paying close attention during this budget cycle and listening for new ideas. What we should not be doing is pointing fingers at the School Department for the lack of resources in other departments around town.

As for the Senior Center, my son, who is a Hingham High student, spent some precious time volunteering there last winter. He described the Senior Center as “the happiest place on earth because everyone in there is always smiling.” That’s fantastic, so I can understand why seniors are asking for more, and personally I would fully support enhancing senior services and programming, not to mention additional parking. But I would hope our seniors could also support the needs of our students, who are also entitled under the law to adequate facilities and robust programming—particularly given that the Senior Center has a functioning heating system, which is more than I can say for Foster School.