School Budget Cuts: May I Vent a Little Please?

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   Okay, I’ll admit it, I work at a school and have worked at my children’s schools as a volunteer, paid employee, and member of Parent Teacher organizations.  I have two children of my own and have been blessed with the chance to meet so many other wonderful children in my years working at the schools.  maybe that is why I have such a strong opinion about school budget cuts. 

    When our lawmakers are looking for ways to save money it seems that our kids are generally the losers.   They never consider cutting their own pay or reducing their perks do they?  They can’t seem to remember that todays children will grow up to be our future lawmakers and, hopefully, responsible adults.  They will be the ones that keep our country running.   Do they really want to take away educational oportunities from them?  Music classes will be removed from most of the schools in our area that have been fortunate enough to still have them.  Approximately 55 teachers were given pink slips in our district alone.  Now, for thse of you who don’t know this,  the Sate of California has a limit for class sizes for grades K through 3, I believe.   For every student over that limit the school loses money.  So, by laying off teachers to save money, class sizes are being increased, then the schools are losing money because their classes are overcrowded.  Make sense to you?  Me either.   Sure, they can lay off teachers from the upper grades and keep the class sizes smaller in the lower grades.   Have you ever tried to learn anything in a class of 40 plus students?  Have you ever tried to teach anything to a class that size?  Those students are not getting the help they need to be successful in school.  Self esteem goes down as grades go down, causing more behavior problems at school.