To the Editor:

In response to “Consolidation Will Open New World for Students, Says Potsdam Man,” I'd like to offer an opposing view. The author needs to see the larger picture, and look at what happens to kids that will be forced to travel long distances on poorly heated or overheated buses.

There is much more to the picture and here's my opinion: I don't see much relevance of having been a board member pre-1990. My wife has a very similar record and shares my opinions. Things have changed a lot since then.

I fail to see much "opportunity" for the kids; in fact I feel the opposite is true. Consolidating two very financially strapped schools will not offer "more and better class offering, sports, music, drama and all kinds of activities." Due to the incredible financial loads brought on by everything from Cuomo to state and federal forced spending increases, there will be far from enough money saved to bring back extraneous services that simply cannot be afforded.

Consolidation is no magic money-pump no matter how you look at it. It's like Cuomo currently trying to provide college education for inmates, while our kids fail to see any of that money spent for their futures. $15,000 is a lot more than it'll cost our kids!

Let's keep reality in the picture here. If the ultimate goal is "the best education we can provide for our children," it's going to take getting those schools out of their financial troubles and making them solvent again. You don't do that in hard times with a plethora of extra-curricular and expensive non-educational offerings.

Personally, I urge each school to do its best in making the decision to consolidate or not, and to keep our children safe, out of trouble, in school, and hopefully on to college or a trade school or whatever the future may hold.

I also have never heard the phrase "austerity budget" having been implemented at either of those schools, and it make me seriously wonder why. There seems to be a lot of silence about what the schools in general have done to make the situation as good as can be done.

There are a lot of words and silly opinions bandied about, but there is never any detailed information about what has been cut, how much, or when?

In reality it has me pretty concerned about out students and whether they are really of interest to any of the powers that be that push all the expense, testing, and other silliness upon them.

People should be taking a look at budgets and become familiar with the situation to be leaders in the fight themselves, and then make their voices heard.

Tom Rivet`

Heuvelton