Alumni fight to save school for kids of vets

[unhappycamper]

Alumni fight to save school for kids of vets
By Daniel Victor - The (Harrisburg, Pa.) Patriot-News
Posted : Sunday Feb 15, 2009 17:07:58 EST

SCOTLAND, Pa. — Of the ways Deborah Griffin’s life wouldn’t have been the same without her eight years at the Scotland School for Veterans’ Children, chief among them is that she would have never known what a fishing rodeo was.

You don’t see ponds in inner-city Philadelphia, where in her early years she struggled through public school and a dangerous neighborhood. Nor do you see ducks or rows of blooming flowers or the grassy hills of central Pennsylvania or an abundance of teachers who make students believe they care deeply about them.

Now she has a love of fishing, a strong network of alumni friends, a college degree and a job as a housing inspector for the city of Philadelphia — none of which she thinks would have been possible without the taxpayer-funded school.

So the thought of the Franklin County residential school being axed because of the state’s budget crisis was devastating for her.

Shutting its doors would save the state $10.5 million. The Rendell administration says it simply can’t afford the costs. The state spends $45,000 per student at Scotland each year, compared with $11,000 per child in public schools.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_scotland_school_021509/%2e

[murielm99]

1. How sad.

Good schools can open doors for students. I hope they can save this school.