One hundred and two million dollars is a lot of money.

That’s how much Superintendent of Schools Dr. Liverman estimates it will cost next year to run Suffolk Public Schools at its present level of services.

That’s about a nine percent increase over the current year.

Nonetheless, it does not seem unreasonable when one considers the growth that the public school system is experiencing and the increasingly competitive nature of attracting and retaining personnel of the caliber necessary to provide our young people with the best possible education.

State aid to local schools is stagnant, yet costs continue to mount. While we would need to think long and hard about advocating a tax increase to fully fund Dr. Liverman’s request – and then only after it was certain that every single possible rock was overturned for waste and redundancy – it would seem that with the positive economic development going on in Suffolk that that would not be the case.

The best way for Suffolk to invest its excess capital would be in our public schools.

Improving them will improve the quality of life, making Suffolk even more attractive for large firms that employ a lot of people, and it’s the best way to share the fruits of our growth and progress with largest possible number of our residents.