To the editor:

Wednesday’s paper fulfilled my irony requirement for the day.

Professor Budig’s statements touted flexible higher education meeting personal and businesses’ economic needs, but stood in stark contrast to the story on the mismanaged economic disaster of our public school system. Kansas, locally and statewide, is facing painful decision making that will shape our education, businesses and economy for generations.

KU is operating with fewer educational resources, as is USD 497. From kindergarten instructors teaching basic reading skills to professors forging the next Ph.D.’s, these instructors take their profession seriously but are only human. The increasing demands we place on them — reduced salary (through denial of raises or furloughs), increased class sizes, rising research expectations and increasing demands for training through NCLB — are simply unreasonable to stretch any further.

The time has come to look at our tax structure, even if this is painful for businesses and individuals. I’m ready to contribute. A simple option to donate my state tax refund to my school district would be a simple, low-cost start. Let’s get creative. Otherwise, there will be no educated workforce for hire.