I just came from the most depressing, sad and frustrating faculty meeting ever and I'm dealing with it by gobbling up the 3 boxes of Girl Scout cookies I just purchased from the chemistry teacher. My county is facing a serious budget shortfall next year and are looking at cutting 65 faculty positions and closing down 2 schools. It was an incredibly depressing and sobering meeting. The principal was visibly distressed. All 50 faculty members in the middle and high school (yes, there are only about 50 total faculty members in both school schools) were clearly upset by the news. It was certainly a bleak welcome to the world of education. I'm not sure how to feel as a first year teacher. I don't know what their RIF plan is (Reduction in Force) and what the procedures are for laying people off. I would imagine it would come down to a number of things. 1) Tenure, which I obviously don't have 2) Degrees held, I have a masters so they have to pay me more 3) Success and accountability, which in today's world of education means test scores, mainly the SOLs which aren't until May. So the jury is still out there for me. The principal warned us not to speculate and told us he would know as soon as he found out more. He broke it down to us by numbers, explained where we can expect to see cuts, what next year would probably look like.
One of the schools they are thinking about closing is our "alternative" education center for kids with behavioral problems who are labeled 'at risk' and don't do well in a traditional academic setting. He said we could expect to see our class sizes increase due to that as well next year. The more he talked the more depressed/frustrated I could see my fellow teachers getting. When he opened up the floor for questions, one of the health and PE teachers finally asked what I know was on everybody's mind. Why is education always the first area to get cuts? All you hear about in the state of Virginia when you watch TV or go to sporting events is 'Virginia lottery, helping Virginia public schools'. This gym teacher quoted those commercials and asked "where does all that money go?" The principal handled the question and broke down where we receive most of our money. He explained that our county needs to make $7.9 million in cuts and if they don't close the 2 schools they will have to cut even more jobs. Our busing and transportation is going to be affected (no maintenance done to buses and maybe 1 new bus for the entire county), our athletic schedules and teams will be affected (fewer games and less traveling), our class size, the physical makeup of our school, even our school calendar...
We were just talking in the teacher break room the other day about cuts that a neighboring school district had to make. I don't think any of us realized we would be on the chopping block next. The big thing I have going for me is that - outside of saving money by hiring someone that doesn't have a Masters degree - they won't really save much by getting rid of me. It's not like I am 1 of 6 other World History and Government teachers at the school. I'm it. Our whole history department is 3 people. That is actually something I really like about this school and something I will definitely miss once I move on from here (wherever that may be). The community here is so awesome. I will forever praise all the positive things that teaching in a small rural school like this one has to offer.
I love the community here and even though I am about as much of an outsider as I can get (native New Yorker, haven't been living in VA long, not familiar with area) I have been welcomed wonderfully. I have done a lot to get involved. I make an effort to go to as many athletic events as possible, including the girls and boys playoff games tonight that will cause me to stick around here 'til about 10 PM and miss tonight's LOST episode. I really hope I remembered to set the DVR! Ah well, I suppose that's what Hulu is for. The girls game starts at six so until then I will sit here and munch along on Samoas - or, I'm sorry, Caramel Delites (do the Girl Scouts not know how to spell anymore) and Tagalongs - Peanut Butter Patties - while I grade papers and send emails homet o parents about their children's inability to do homework. As our principal said, we still have this year and the best thing we all can do is to focus on this year. It was so hard to look around as he said that at the faces of people I know were planning on buying a new car or a house or having a baby in the near future. It was awful. I'm lucky that I'm young and mobile and was planning on moving on after next year anyway, but it didn't make hearing the news any easier.
Why do you think education is always the first place that sees cuts when it comes to balancing a budget? Have you or someone you've known ever faced the prospect of being laid off? How did you deal with the news?
3 comments:
Those meetings definitely suck... Trust me! :( Random question - did you have to student teach when you were doing your masters? Just wondering! :) Hope you have a good day tomorrow - we have 2 hour delays all week! :)/:(
Yes, I did my grad work at UVA and actually student taught for 2 years. Year 1 was divided between an 11th grade U.S history class and elective sociology class. I student taught 2 week units at a time. Year 2 I was in a 6th grade U.S history class and that was the full-time student teaching gig.
It is GARBAGE that schools are always the first places where budgets are cut (it seems)...and don't even get me started on teacher salaries vs. doctor/professional athlete/actor salaries...
Here's hoping that you make the best of whatever happens this year; these things are largely out of your control, so there's no use stressing over them. Just think positive and let it go :)
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