I was planning on taking a break from letters to Shorelines, but then along came the Cameron letter of last week. It contains more of the same as previous Vote YES letters, but with examples of amazement and grief from the NO vote override decision. There was not a single quantified measure as to what additional funding would accomplish in terms of improving education, yet the long-term problems within the Westport High School continue.

Westport High School has a significant problem with students leaving to pursue other educational opportunities:

• Between 2011 and 2022, 566 high school students left the Westport School System.

• Seventy-six percent of the 566 students left after the eighth grade, at an average of 47 students per year.

The Cameron letter also ignores that significant funds already support Westport schools. I offer the following quantified details for FY2022:

• Over the past 10 years funding per student has increased at a yearly rate of 4.85 percent to almost $14,000.

• Westport spent $9 million on teacher salaries in FY2022 ($65,000 per teacher, $48/hour). And 44.5 percent of teacher salaries are over $80,000.

• Westport spent $6 million in 2022 for retired teachers’ pension benefits. This is twice the national average for Social Security.

• Debt service for FY 2022 was $4.62 million, and the FY2023 budget is $5.17 million. This is six times the FY2012 debt service.

The Westport Select Board and school board need to control spending, lower costs, and make the high school competitive with other educational opportunities.

Elliot F. Whipple

Westport