Budget Cuts in Elementary Schools Harm Students
It’s that time of year again when the parents of public school students are bombarded with school budget numbers, administrative concerns, town hall meetings, and threats. Yes, it’s almost time to vote on a new school budget.
Last year we were warned that if the school budget didn’t pass, our students would lose teacher aides and those who still had their jobs would have their hours drastically cut. Did the high school or middle schools lose aides? Not that I’m aware of; the cut in teacher aide hours only happened at the elementary school level.
While you might think, “ah, that’s not so bad; at least they still had jobs,” tell that to the kindergarten teacher who was alone in the classroom with her students when one student started choking. While she was attending to the student (who is thankfully fine) there was no one else in the room to keep the other students safe and in control, nor was there any other adult who could have reached the telephone had the need to call 911 arisen.
Losing teacher’s aides can put a child’s safety at risk.
This year the consequences are more dire. With no state aid, we most certainly will be losing programs. Heck, right now the controversy is that one of our elementary schools might close!
CLOSING A SCHOOL? Where will those 500 students go?
Well, there are 8 other elementary schools in the district, so the lines will be redrawn and a major redistricting of students will occur. Not only do those 500 displaced elementary students need somewhere to learn but they can’t just lump them into one of the other schools…they would be severely overcrowded.
So every elementary school student will get shuffled around and teachers and administrators will most likely lose jobs. Again, you might think, “Ah, change is good,” but if you’ve spent 4 years at one elementary school and have gotten used to the surroundings and the teachers, it can be very distracting to be uprooted, possibly away from friends who were redistricted to yet a different elementary school.
It’s enough to make your head spin, right?
Elementary school is supposed to be the foundation, the basis, of a child’s education. So often the experiences they have in elementary school – with teachers and with other classmates – often shape how the student feels about school as they grow older. Students who have supportive teachers and parents and who are comfortable with the administrators and their school surroundings will generally perform well in school.
Those students who are uprooted to a different environment might then suffer anxiety about new teachers or making new friends. Even older students can become anxious about being “the new kid” and worry about how they’ll fit in to their new surroundings.
In fairness, the cuts this year will likely affect the higher levels as well. Last year we at the elementary level felt VERY singled out but this year will be different.
I’m generally an optimistic person but this year I just don’t see how the school budget will pass. People are deathly afraid of increased taxes and we have a very vocal senior citizen community who are living on fixed incomes and every year they oppose the school budget.
What you need to remember (and you really should educate yourself about your own school district) is that even if the budget fails and we suffer through the proposed budget cuts AND the elementary school closes, our school taxes will STILL increase! It’s just a matter of how much but it’s still an increase.
Quite the vicious circle we’ve got here. And only time will tell how much of a cut we’ll suffer at the elementary schools this year. Our budget vote is approaching on May 18th so I’ll be sure to update you then.
When is your school budget vote? Are you concerned about any proposed cuts? I’d love to hear what other parents are going through so leave a comment below.
School Lunch Reform
