Seriously!!

Public education has been around for a long time. It has changed many times over the years... Content and Curriculum is constantly improving, based on research on how children learn and what they NEED to learn, based on the culture and society. Public Education has also changed for financial reasons as well. Changes in education based on finances are not always "improvements". Sometimes School Boards and Administration need to take a "serious" look at budgets and how to effectively use the money that the community provides through income tax, property tax and business revenues. Budgets are serious business. The education of children is serious business. The emotions of a community, especially in tough economic times is serious as well.

And it IS serious!!! The School Board met in a special meeting yesterday. They NEED the community to vote YES in November. However, they also need to be proactive and can't sit around asking "what if". They need to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. In my opinion, the results of Monday's meeting are definitely THE WORST (as it affects the current and future students in the district and ultimately ALL residents who live in the district)!! Here are the "first round" cuts that will need to be made in order to be fiscally responsible:

Elimination or reduction of Elementary Physical Education
Elimination or reduction of Elementary Music
Elimination or reduction of Elementary Art
Reduce staff to half-time where possible
Athletic Sport participation to count as a Physical Education credit
Uniform Fee for Athletic Programs
Athletic Program Team Participation Fee
School District LIBRARY to be operated by Aides
(the Bryan Times article left out the word LIBRARY. The School Board did NOT suggest that the School District would be operated by Aides. That omission has hopefully been cleared up and did not cause further contention in an already difficult situation.)
Eliminate low participation athletic programs
Newsletter back on-line
Reduction of clerical support/secretary


Did I mention that this is serious??? I know that there are those in the community who are not affected by the Athletic cuts being proposed. What about the "elimination or reduction" of Physical Education, Art and Music?? (Art was eliminated several years ago for children in grades K - 3) There is research that proves that Art and Music is important to the way children learn. Who hasn't heard news reports of childhood obesity?? What does that do to our children if we remove the opportunity for Physical Education? Do I wish that these cuts weren't on the table? You bet!!! However, I know how SERIOUS the financial forecast is for our district. This is NOT privileged information. It is all public knowledge. Our School Board and Administration is desperately trying to use our money wisely and still keep our doors open...which means making some decisions that have SERIOUS consequences!

These cuts could be followed by a second round of cuts if needed. Second round cuts are even more SERIOUS than first round cuts. Final decisions have NOT been made, but these cuts COULD include :

Reduce Elementary classes (K - 6) to ONE SECTION each
Elimination of the Instant Alert Notification System
No High School Bus Transportation
Looking into a 4 day school week

(These cuts actually would move beyond SERIOUS in my opinion. They SEVERELY undermine the education of the children of the district! Your child or grandchild could be one of 40 or more in a classroom! See my previous post on being a "number" in a school system here ( http://strykerlevy.blogspot.com/2011/09/elephant-in-room.html ). And for the record, the State minimum requirement for school transportation mandates only Kindergarten through 8th grade.)

The School Board did not come to these decisions lightly. They have been discussing ways to make cuts... preferring NOT to affect the education of the children they are sworn to provide for. However, they may be forced to make some hard choices with SERIOUS consequences!

As I write this I am reminded of the children's story of Chicken Little. It is not my intention to "scare" anyone. I don't believe that anyone is best served when we keep everyone in a state of panic. There are a lot of opinions in our community and ALL of those opinions matter. What I do know is: The unknown is definitely scary! But I don't want to live in fear!!

So, I ask you to SERIOUSLY consider voting YES for our children. And if you haven't been persuaded yet, I am very interested in why not? I believe that if we could sit down and discuss your reservations and objections, it would become clear that we ALL want what is best for our children and that we can work together to make that happen. SERIOUSLY?? You bet!

Please vote YES in November. And our children will know that you take their education SERIOUSLY.