Manchester Board of School Committee members say the budget proposed by Mayor Ted Gatsas is so low that it would have terrible consequences for city schools. Meanwhile, the Manchester Education Association (MEA), the city teachers union, says that the budget passed by the school board — which is $2 million larger than Gatsas' proposed school budget — would decimate the public schools and doom our children to working menial jobs.

Gatsas wants to spend $150 million on the city schools. The school board really wants to spend $162 million, but will settle for a little more than $152 million. The MEA apparently wants an unlimited supply of funds, delivered in unmarked bills, with no questions asked.

We jest, but the problem with the MEA's Chicken Little rhetoric (see the column in our print editions) is that it issues forth every time elected officials pass a school budget lower than what the union wants. Whatever budget is passed is not just disappointing, but devastating, crushing, destructive and something only Neanderthals could possibly support.

If the MEA wants to start winning these public relations battles, maybe it should stop claiming that every school budget reduction is the educational equivalent of Hiroshima and tell the people exactly what level of funding would be acceptable.