Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools seeking no budget increase

What is the cost and benefit of the CHCCS "Chinese Immersion" program?

Hey, it sounds really cool and I am sure it is a good program. No problem there.

For those unfamiliar, children are transported across town to partake in this magnet program, using school vehicles, at no cost to the families/students involved.

But what is sacrificed for this? How about Emily, in high school who is struggling with the basics and cannot get help because there is not enough staff? This is a first person experience I am referring to. Not my kids, but a friend's kids.

 How many other programs are there that border on private school level attention to the gifted? Come on news media, check this out! Why is school funding twice the level in Chapel Hill/Carrboro than Orange County? And who benefits and who pays?

So I challenge the local media and other interested parties to look at where the money is spent in the CHCCS.

There is waste, and there are "special advanced " programs that serve a few and steal money from the basic charge of the school system. The three R's. That's right.

Dr. Pedersen has steered this ship for a long time. He is paid a lot of money. And more and more, he is serving the elite and not the general public with his programs and processes.

It is way past time to get back to the basics, toss the special "high tech college prep academy" programs and focus on giving all of the children a decent education.

Who knows, maybe the graduation rate will increase if they stop pandering to the high end folks. The double speak coming from CHCCs really is appalling.