Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett visited all three Bluffton-Harrison schools yesterday for the third and final Adams/Wells In-Service for teachers and staff.
B-H Superintendent Dr. Julie Wood and Norwell Curriculum Director Amy Leeson guided Bennett through the schools. They said he was pleased with what he saw, but asked how they would continue the program in the future.
Short answer: they won't.
Next year school calendars, much like school budgets are going to be tighter. Much, much tighter.
Just hours after Bennett's visit the B-H school board, facing a drastic reduction in funding, voted to eliminate six teaching staff and reduce the pay scale for bus drivers. Last week Adams Wells Special Services Cooperative took similar action in reducing teaching staff and both Southern Wells and Northern Wells are doing the same.
Bennett was not in town to address funding issues; he didn't bring a suitcase full of cash for area schools. Too bad.
And it's not just Wells County educators who are hurting.
Schools across the country are slashing budgets, reducing services; some school districts have eliminated all extra-curricular activities and bussing in the face of cutbacks. It's a dire situation for educators as they face unpredictable revenue streams that at their best will be significantly less than they have been in recent memory.
Of course everyone is making cuts, not just schools. Last week two Wells County employers cut about 120 staff, not counting the 11 teachers cut by the AWSSC; and Fort Wayne employers continue to make cutbacks affecting many Wells County residents who commute.
As the economy improves, demand will increase and so too will industrial production; employees will be rehired and pay scales adjusted as corporate bank accounts return to the positive. People will go back to work, start spending again and drive the economy to new heights.
Soon, we'll all have another chance to stock pile money in our 401Ks. For us the future looks better all the time.
But the students in school right now, the ones who will receive fewer educational options next year, spend more time on the bus or not have the materials, environment or tools needed to learn, their future looks a little less bright.
This is it for them. This is their chance to prepare for the future. Now. By the time legislators figure out how they will pay for the education of today's students, they'll all have graduated.
Well, most of them will have. If we're lucky.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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2 comments:
Well Said.
I'd like to thank Mr. Battiste for this wonderful blog post and make some comments on the subject.
The saddest part about all of this is that Dr. Bennett was voted into office by people who obviously did not study the two candidates from whom they had to choose. He was championed by Mitch Daniels and he was NOT supported by the Indiana State Teachers Association.
A good guess would be that as Dr. Bennett implements his strict 180 days of instruction with no time for parent teacher conferences or inservices, school systems will seek to ask teachers to work more days a for the same pay as before.
Another good guess is that school systems and Dr. Bennett will then charge that teachers and the ISTA don't care about children because they do not wish to give up their personal time.
And while, the public may be tempted to adopt that sentiment, especially in these difficult economic times, I'd like to ask "them" to realize that many teachers also have families to support, bills to pay, and other demands on their time and energy. These demand are things such as continuing education in order to keep their jobs, personal family needs, and personal concerns as we all have. In addition, it would be wise to remember that teachers are part of the consumer base of any community. The money they have (or don't have) to spend affects "your" local businesses and the economy in general.
I urge the community not to "circle their wagons and shoot in" towards the people who are on the "front lines" with our most precious resource- children- as I suspect Dr. Bennett and others will suggest. Instead, write and call your legislators and Dr. Bennett and let it be known that you support your teachers and your schools and most of all- the students. Express dismay at the decisions they've made. Research how these people have voted on issues and remember them at election time.
In particular, I urge you to express your dismay to your legislators about not providing a stable funding source to replace property tax funding and suggest that it's time to get to work on the school funding process.
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