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Letter: Misconceptions about the school budget

Editor, Gazette-Journal:

After attending the joint meeting of the Gloucester County School Board and the Board of Supervisors, it became obvious that there are some misconceptions about funding for Gloucester schools.

First, teacher paychecks have not increased. Teachers are paying more out of pocket for health insurance, and prescription costs and co-pays doubled. Their take-home pay decreased. Second, no one wants to make any cuts to school sports, including the school board and the superintendent. In fact, it is my belief that they would invest more money into those programs if it were available. Everyone understands how valuable athletics are to our students, and we whole-heartedly support them.

However, two expenses must be paid by the school system in the coming year. It has no choice and must pay $1.3 million in increased health insurance and a $500,000 increase for Virginia Retirement System (VRS). Never mind that we need to hire more special education teachers. Never mind t...

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