A coin toss is an appropriate tool to determine which football team kicks off or who pays for dinner; using the flip of a coin to decide who attends a public school is wrong.
The Falmouth school district is starting a prekindergarten program for the 2023-’24 school year. Unfortunately, the plan is such that some Falmouth 4-year-olds will not be able to attend.
There are 48 slots in the current Falmouth pre-K plan. It appears that there are many more students than slots. The available positions will be filled by special needs students first, then a lottery system to fill the remaining seats. Effectively, chance determines who gets educated.
Imagine the Falmouth fire chief only responding to half the house fires in town because of limited resources. When the call comes in, flip a coin. Tails, stay in the firehouse. Heads, fight the fire.
Public education is for all, not just for the lucky.
I urge Falmouth residents to contact the school board and administration and encourage them to offer a genuinely inclusive pre-K program for all Falmouth 4-year-olds.
Scott Simmonds
Falmouth
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