High school students face hard lesson in economics
June 3, 2010 Across the country, mass layoffs of teachers, counselors and
other staff members - caused in part by the drying up of federal
stimulus dollars - are leading to larger classes and reductions in
everything that is not a core subject, including music, art, clubs,
sports and other after-school activities.
Educators and others worry the cuts could lead to higher dropout
rates and lower college attendance as students receive less
guidance and become less engaged in school. They fear a generation
of young people could be left behind.
"It's going to be harder for everybody to get an opportunity to
get into college," said Chelsea Braza, a 16-year-old sophomore at
Silver Creek High School in San Jose. "People wouldn't be as
motivated to do anything in school because there's no activities
and there's no involvement."
The library at Silver Creek High is open for only an hour a day.
The career center is closed. There is no more summer school. And
student athletes must pay $200 each.
State budget cuts will make things even worse next year. The
school will probably have five fewer classroom days and lose three
of its four guidance counselors and three of its four custodians,
as well as its health aide, mental health coordinator and student
activities director. The future of student government, clubs, pep
rallies, homecoming and prom is in doubt.
The federal government's $787 billion economic stimulus package
saved an estimated 300,000 education jobs for this year, but many
of those positions are once again in jeopardy as that money dries
up.
"Literally tens of millions of students will experience these
budget cuts in one way or another," said Education Secretary Arne
Duncan, who is urging Congress to provide another round of
emergency funding for schools. "If we do not help avert this state
and local budget crisis, we could impede reform and fail another
generation of children."
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has introduced legislation that would
create a $23 billion fund to help schools retain teachers,
principals and other staff members. The fate of the bill is
uncertain.
The American Association of School Administrators estimates that
275,000 education jobs will be cut in the coming school year, based
on an April survey. Other AASA surveys found that 52 percent of
administrators plan to cut extracurricular activities, and 51
percent are reducing elective courses not required for graduation.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina, which
cut $90 million last school year, plans to slice off an additional
$78 million and eliminate more than 1,000 positions, including
almost 650 teachers. The district will cut its middle school sports
teams next year, and schools are cutting electives such as German
and creative writing, Superintendent Peter Gorman said.
"I'm very concerned when we can't offer those courses which
hook an individual student to pursue their passion, or what could
be their life's vocation," Gorman said.
In the Tupper Lake Central Schools in New York, the rural
district in the Adirondacks will lose 25 percent of its
instructional staff in the upcoming school year, which will
probably result in bigger classes and the elimination of electives
such as photography, modern art and ceramics, said Superintendent
Seth McGowan.
"It seriously compromises the depth of the education our
students will be receiving," he said.
In Illinois, more than 20,000 jobs in schools - including an
estimated 12,600 teachers and administrators - will be lost next
school year, said Brent Clark, executive director of the Illinois
Association of School Administrators.
South Florida's Broward County, the nation's sixth-largest
school district, could lay off 800 to 1,000 teachers because of a
$130 million budget shortfall. Officials are trying to figure out
how to save sports and electives, considering options like sharing
an art teacher between schools.
California's relentless budget crisis is taking its toll on
schools like Silver Creek High, part of San Jose's East Side Union
High School District, which is seeking to slash an additional 10
percent from its $200 million budget.
Over the past two years, the district, which has 12 campuses and
25,000 students, has eliminated more than 450 full-time positions,
including nearly 200 teachers and certified staff, said Assistant
Superintendent Cathy Giammona.
Class sizes have swelled to an average of 35 students, with more
than 40 crammed into AP Calculus sections. And schools in the
district won't offer any courses unless they are fully enrolled,
leading to cuts in electives such as photography, business,
woodworking and Japanese.
Silver Creek High senior Anthony Chavez, who credits his
counselors with helping him win a scholarship to the University of
California at Berkeley, said he worries that students won't get the
same opportunities with just one counselor for more than 2,400
students.
"Through my four years here my counselors helped me with
everything. I'm the first generation in my family to go to
college," he said. "I didn't even know what SATs were."