I attended the first public information meeting of my local school district tonight, and I'm in total shock.
Here's the gist of what's going on:
Because of the recession, state revenues are drying up. To save schools, both cuts and new revenue sources will be needed, but and the state legislature is frozen, unwilling or unable to act, and Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the most recent budget proposal they sent him. His newest proposal would require $21 billion in cuts to education, likely triggering, among other drastic measures, 50% increases in class sizes for grades K-3. Even though research shows that smaller classes increase student learning.
Why is this happening? It's not just the recession. The system is broken, so badly that I can't even fathom how to begin fixing it.
As Steven Cassidy wrote in his diary,
"With the state on the verge of not being able to pay its bills, it is possible a budget deal will be adopted sooner than later. The Democrats are apparently offering a package of 50% cuts and 50% tax increases to solve the budget crisis. If the Republican legislators agree, and that is a big "if," there will be $21 billion in cuts to state spending."
"Even at this amount, the impact on our public schools will devastating. Increased class sizes, elimination of sports and music programs, laying off librarians, nurses, counselors and speech therapists, cleaning classrooms every other day to reduce custodial positions, and deferring needed maintenance are all measures school districts are seriously considering to balance their budgets."
In my district,
*$6.7 million needs to be cut for next year. (This is after $2 million in cuts for the current year, that the district only learned would be needed in November.)
*A 29% cut in the number of administrative employees is likely.
*Class sizes in kindergarten may increase from 20 to 30 or more. And not just in kindergarten -- grades 1-3 as well. And for English and Math classes in grade 9. Even though research shows that smaller classes increase student learning.
These are the stark realities in an outstanding school district.
I can't even imagine what must be going on in other places. They may already have eliminated sports and music programs, they may not have many school counselors to let go, and in all likelihood, maintenance of their buildings has already been postponed for years.
The long-term effects, particularly of increased class sizes, could be quite significant. Kids who don't learn to read in kindergarten can't keep up in first grade, and kids who are never noticed, who don't bond with their teachers because their teachers are overworked, are much less likely to tough it through till high school graduation.
Suddenly, my to-do list is full. I have letters to write, to my state senator and representatives. I'll be volunteering in my community to try to pass a parcel tax to provide dedicated funding to keep smaller classes in place. I guess it's a good thing that I'm "underemployed" -- since I work only part-time, I'll be able to volunteer on behalf of all the other kids whose parents are working two or three jobs to try to hold their families together.