When attending my first parent-teacher association meeting at Hurley Elementary School as a grandparent, I was appalled to learn that the school was raising money from the PTA to finance restroom stalls (the school board allegedly pays 70%) and then paying for resurfacing the playground area, which would run over $50,000.

This is not acceptable and should not be the province of the community, as both should be in the province of the maintenance costs for the schools.

Additionally, I was sad to learn that school PTAs are sending home kids with toothbrushes, clothes and food in their book bags, which depicts a time in Salisbury when our distribution of students by cloistered communities has placed too many socio-economically challenged pupils together.

While the state is worried about the reading scores, evidently too many children face the challenge of obtaining their basic needs for survival. I haven’t heard of this being discussed in board meetings, and it’s time to re-examine our priorities.

Ada M. Fisher
Salisbury