Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I will, with the next few lines, attempt to defuse some of the recent bombs thrown by critics at the Mathews County Public School (MCPS) system and its employees. No doubt we are living in turbulent economic times. Yet, the southeastern region of Virginia has been spared much of the pain due to the many federal tax dollars that are spent here. Looking at U.S. Department of Labor statistics and Census Bureau data for our region, overall wages are up and unemployment is trending down. In Mathews County, property values and median household income are up.

Consequently, what I want to discuss here … what I want to counter here is the charge by some in our community that the return on taxpayer dollars to the MCPS system has declined in recent years. In fact, taxpayers of Mathews County have invested less in public education in recent years yet receive a greater return on that investment.

A look at Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck school district bud...