I Will Trade You One Military Grade Helicopter for Forty, yes that is 4 0, Forty Thousand Teachers

We went to my daughters spring concert earlier this week. Seeing all the students from colorfully dressed third graders to the Junior High chorus, my daughter's group, in their matching black and white to the phenomenally talented High School chorus and chamber choirs I was stuck by a thought. It has become a sad rite of passage each spring to hear of our school districts making cuts. These cuts year after year result in the removal of faculty and staff, the reduction in programs and other cuts.

My wife's sister is a music teacher and as we all know music and art are often the first items on the chopping block. I realize that of course now with No Child Left Behind teachers now must focus primarily if not only on the items to be tested but somewhere in our society we have to have a place for appreciation of the arts. I certainly remember having a music class and an art class each week. I had no talent in either area but I am sure that there were several students who got as much out of those classes as I did out of athletics.

In fact my daughter is one of those students. She is in the art club, does plays and sings in the chorus. Fortunately here in Bangor it does not appear that music will be on the chopping block soon.

My wife teaches Remedial Reading and is a gifted and talented teacher. I have known her five years and I could give you a very long list of students in just that time that she has helped and set on the path to being a good reader. Study after study shows that the number one most important key to success in today's world is if the person is able to read and write well. Further studies show that if a student is not on grade level in reading by Grade Three then the challenge to ever become a strong reader increases exponentially.

So of course it is obvious that in these tough budget times the program that is first crossed off the list of potential cuts are the literacy and remedial reading programs which help these not just at risk third graders but at risk citizens. I would think so. You would think so. Sadly this is not the case. School administrations are being placed in a terrible position. They are having increasingly limited resources and they need to spend every dollar wisely.

I believe that we should be hiring more help for these pre third grade students. The cost to society of a child that falls behind, potentially drops out of school and has a less successful life because we could not afford a full time reading specialist at his school would show what a short sighted answer these cuts are.

The fault is not the administrations. It is the choices being made in Augusta. Our state government is, to my understanding, bound to provide a certain percentage of funding to school districts. They make no bones about the fact that they do not do so.

State are receiving less money from the federal government because again we are broke.

There is no question that we are having financial difficulties from the top down. I do not pretend to know the answer.

Well actually that is not true. I do have an answer. It seems simplistic, it is simplistic, and so I am sure someone much smarter and more in the know than I could tell me why in this case simple is not better.

As I sat there watching my daughter sing last week I calculated in my head that at the cost of 2 billion dollars per one of these helicopters that the military has now contracted to build would pay for 40,000 teachers for one year. I know that helicopter project employs many people who might lose their jobs were the contract not to happen.

I know nothing is easy. The military however should not be a jobs program. We do not need these helicopters. Frankly anything which costs 2 billion to make that can crash and be gone is not worth the investment. Not for an enemy that does not exist.

I could go on and on about the cost of our effort in Afghanistan. Suffice to say it is a sewer hole.

The fact is this. When we say we do not have the money for health care or education or teachers or any other program that continually is on the chopping block we are wrong. Dead wrong. We have the money, what we do not have are the correct choices being made.

They say there are no atheists in foxholes. My guess is that if a defense contractor or a Congressman who is in their pocket had a child struggling to learn to read and write they would spare no expense to help them. Thankfully for them they would have the means to do so. The question is should having all opportunities to be a good reader, or develop an interest in music or art, should any of these be dependent on the wealth of the parents or the school district.

Money does not solve everything. Not even in the educuational system. The choices we make however do reflect our values as a country.

For my vote I think we can give up a few helicopters, maybe even a battleship, so that we can give our students all they need.

Or is that too simple an answer.