Thursday, April 03, 2008
Cuts Not Fun
I don't envy any of the decision makers deciding this current budget, but they have to be done without axing the truly core services - and not just Math, English and Science - but what keep students going to school. Unfortunately, while the Super says he gets that, big chunks of the what keeps kids in school are up on the chopping block anyway.
How can the town even have the kind of time to get creative, or entertain an override, if it doesn't have all the facts ahead of time? Heck, it wasn't long ago that headlines paraded the (typically no good) Swampscott Reporter saying all our problems were solved, since the health care plan wasn't going up. Whoops.
So what should the administration cut? First off, Paul Maguire's right: stay away from core programs and their teachers. As much as they're needed, cuts to administration, new textbooks and professional development should be first.
Then, if that isn't enough (and it probably won't be), members of the town are unfortunately going to have to ask themselves "what's our top priorities?" Obviously, that starts out with Science, Foreign Languages, History, English, Math and Health/Phys Ed. However, it doesn't stop there: music, art, tech, and business (computer) classes are right up there too. Why? While each alone doesn't cater to everyone, together they make a huge, meaningful impact in each and every student's ability to get through school and learn their math and science. A base level of all of those programs need to be there.
Unfortunately, that means there's not much room for cuts - except in how those classes are taught. Now, since when I graduated in 2002 - and there were seemingly endless amounts of AP Classes (many of which I took) - I hear there are far fewer. However, even more unfortunately, there may need to be even less. No matter how anyone looks at it, having extra AP classes aren't as important as making sure there's enough educational diversity and opportunity at school to keep students happy and learning. Even if a student is taking American History, instead of AP History, they're still learning about our founding fathers.
Plus, on a per student basis, teachers could give those who are interested in taking the AP exam extra work for preparation. It isn't ideal, but students don't have to take an AP class to take an AP exam. So, if there have to be teachers laid off and classes that need to be cut from the budget, the classes that are needed least are the ones that should be first to go - and those classes don't include the musics, arts and techs. Of course, all these classes are needed - and these were all classes I took not too long ago - but music and art can't be viewed through a different lens when, on the aggregate, they do the same thing and mean the same thing, even if its to different people.
In the meantime, let's all call our state legislators and ask them why we're still stuck at a 5.3% income tax rate. It's clearly not working and hasn't worked for even a year since its implementation, in good economic times or bad.
"I love tech ed," Malone confessed. "If it wasn't for tech ed, I wouldn't have made it through high school. It's unfortunate something popular is on the chopping block, but these are the hard decisions we have to make.”Add band and other important classes to that list. Yet, the most disturbing thing about all of this is - again - is that Swampscott faces another budget battle without all the facts in advance. Last year, parents didn't know Machon would be shut down until months before classes closed. This year, there were "discrepancies ... found in personnel and payroll files" and suddenly, the town was in debt hundreds of thousands more. Not good enough.
How can the town even have the kind of time to get creative, or entertain an override, if it doesn't have all the facts ahead of time? Heck, it wasn't long ago that headlines paraded the (typically no good) Swampscott Reporter saying all our problems were solved, since the health care plan wasn't going up. Whoops.
So what should the administration cut? First off, Paul Maguire's right: stay away from core programs and their teachers. As much as they're needed, cuts to administration, new textbooks and professional development should be first.
Then, if that isn't enough (and it probably won't be), members of the town are unfortunately going to have to ask themselves "what's our top priorities?" Obviously, that starts out with Science, Foreign Languages, History, English, Math and Health/Phys Ed. However, it doesn't stop there: music, art, tech, and business (computer) classes are right up there too. Why? While each alone doesn't cater to everyone, together they make a huge, meaningful impact in each and every student's ability to get through school and learn their math and science. A base level of all of those programs need to be there.
Unfortunately, that means there's not much room for cuts - except in how those classes are taught. Now, since when I graduated in 2002 - and there were seemingly endless amounts of AP Classes (many of which I took) - I hear there are far fewer. However, even more unfortunately, there may need to be even less. No matter how anyone looks at it, having extra AP classes aren't as important as making sure there's enough educational diversity and opportunity at school to keep students happy and learning. Even if a student is taking American History, instead of AP History, they're still learning about our founding fathers.
Plus, on a per student basis, teachers could give those who are interested in taking the AP exam extra work for preparation. It isn't ideal, but students don't have to take an AP class to take an AP exam. So, if there have to be teachers laid off and classes that need to be cut from the budget, the classes that are needed least are the ones that should be first to go - and those classes don't include the musics, arts and techs. Of course, all these classes are needed - and these were all classes I took not too long ago - but music and art can't be viewed through a different lens when, on the aggregate, they do the same thing and mean the same thing, even if its to different people.
In the meantime, let's all call our state legislators and ask them why we're still stuck at a 5.3% income tax rate. It's clearly not working and hasn't worked for even a year since its implementation, in good economic times or bad.
Labels: schools
# posted by Ryan @ 10:39 PM 
