Anybody who hasn't been under a rock for the last year or so knows that the money is tight in a lot of places. The economy is "slowly recovering" according to some, but companies are laying people off, state budgets are looking awful, things are being cut, cut, cut.
Monday after school we had a meeting to talk about the district's budget forecast. It sounds awful. We've already cut $11 million between cuts made last year and cuts made during this year, and there are more to come.
Layoffs are on the table. Salary freezes are on the table. Program cuts are on the table. It's hard to know who's safe and what our jobs will look like next year. Some teachers might be teaching different classes, larger classes. I'm nervous. I pretty sure I won't LOSE my job, but if there aren't enough students signing up for yearbook, newspaper and journalism classes, suddenly I become an expensive proposition for the school and the district. I'm not certified to teach any other area, so I'm sort of stuck.
I spent last Thursday at the state capitol with four of my students. They competed in a contest sponsored by KSPA. Students interviewed our legislators to find out what they were thinking on the state's budget and so the school district's budget. Those we spoke to are not in favor of any sort of tax raises (not even on cigarettes). Their solution is to continue cuts. We're pretty much all the way through any fat there was, and we're getting into the muscle and bone.
Why not increase taxes on something that is NON-essential for life? Whatsa matter? Smokes getting to expensive for you? Well, QUIT. Or, help me educate the doctor who might save your black lungs someday.
I realize tax increases aren't a popular proposition, but when you are talking about schools, it's tough to to stomach cuts to programs. I saw that in my former district, they're talking about removing art classes from elementary schools. For some students, the chance to participate in art classes is a lifeline.
The scariest thing I heard on Monday during our staff meeting was that the district has already had to dip into our "reserve" fund to cover payroll three times this year. That means three times the state's payments didn't make it to the district in time to pay our salaries. That reserve fund sounds pretty important to me, but one of the possible "solutions" the state is proposing is districts returning those reserve funds.
If this keeps up, I might have to really get you clicking on the Google ads...we could be looking for some supplemental income.
01.05.23 Fifteen years
1 year ago
2 comments:
We had our meeting yesterday. I thought the reserves-used-to-pay-three-paychecks was interesting, too! We talked about it as a grade level again this afternoon.
I feel fairly confident that I'm safe, but after the 2 teachers we already lost in August due to low class sizes, I'm now one of the 3 "newest" teachers we have on staff. Still new after 6 years. Awesome.
It's happening in Indiana, too. The governor and his administration, in their infinite wisdom (note the sarcasm), changed the funding formula for schools here not long ago. When once schools got funding from property taxes (relatively static) AND sales taxes (much more fluid), now those schools are funded solely on sales taxes. The recession hit and, BOOM, there goes the money. Our district has a $12 million referendum on the ballot for May. If it doesn't pass, I worried about the aftermath.
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