Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/85441
The Ghost of Education "Spirit!" said Scrooge in a broken voice, "remove me from this place." "That they are what they are, do not blame me!" said the Ghost. T WENTY BILLION HAS BEEN CUT from schools in just the last four years. Approxi- mately 40,000 educators have lost their jobs over the past three years in California, includ- ing nurses, counselors, librarians and classified employees. That means students are packed into classrooms like sardines. Sports, music, arts and science either have been cut or are on the chopping block. Money for basics such as paper, pencils and books is lacking. Students have been divided into haves and have-nots, since parents in affluent areas are able to raise funds to offset cuts. Furlough days have short- ened the school year. Facilities are falling apart, with little funding to fix them. The Master Plan is in tatters: Colleges turn away thousands of qualified applicants and have drastically cut professorships, classes and programs while raising tuition. Here is a look at our once- flourishing districts now floundering. Bartering for school supplies Over the past five years, the district has cut $29 million, with reductions to truancy and drop- out prevention programs, after-school tutoring, pre-kindergarten classes, and GATE (gifted and talented education) programs, and the elimination of some magnet programs. Middle schools no longer have certificated librarians. Most counselors were cut; teachers say student behavior problems reflect this. Many junior high electives are gone; so are most field trips. BAKERSFIELD CITY: FROM TOP: Rachel Lenix barters for pencils. "It's scary to think students could even have more taken away." Shirley Alvarez, the "last teacher standing" after the Adult School laid off 19 of 20 who teach parenting classes. threatened with being cut. After-school sports for grades K-6 were greatly reduced. Over the past five years, 108 teaching posi- tions were cut, along with 344 classified positions, so class sizes are larger. Teachers have fewer supplies. Rachel Lenix, a longtime sixth-grade teacher at McKinley Elemen- tary School, says teachers "barter" for paper and pencils they need. There's still music, but it's constantly PRESENT POMONA UNIFIED: Last parenting class standing Sixty million has been cut over six years. The school year has decreased by five furlough days. K-3 class-size reduction is gone. Secondary classes have 35 students or more. Half of school counsel- ors were let go; a handful of nurses travel between schools. Two librarians are split between four high schools, with none at the middle schools. More than 1,000 pink slips have been issued YES ON 30 to teachers over the past few years, with 90 handed out last year. Adult education, which provided classes for 17,000 students, had $11 million cut from a $12 million program. The community has high unemployment and has staged protests because adults — including parents — need adult education for job train- ing. Of the 20 who taught parenting classes in the adult school, only one teacher remains. Superintendent Richard Martinez says, "Every- one in Pomona Unified is working harder with less," and worries job burnout will happen. How to meet students' needs? Since 2007, the district, consisting of four schools, cut $5 million. One librarian serves four schools, and there are no academic coun- selors at the high school. (A vice principal serves as a half-time counselor.) The high school eliminated its AVID program for college readiness. The art teacher at the middle school was eliminated, and the high school no longer has French, German or Latin classes. Class size reduction for grades K-3 is gone. Teaching jobs have been lost. The John JOHN SWETT UNIFIED: Swett Education Association had 130 members in 1996, compared with less than 70 now. The groundskeepers and custodians were decimated. The district hasn't had a school nurse since the 1980s. The high school is under reconstruction, but the district lacks funds to complete the proj- ect, although parts of it continue. Students pay to ride the bus. The district imposed five fur- lough days. The high school band has survived, thanks to volunteers holding more than 20 fundraisers. Residents tried to pass two parcel taxes, but couldn't muster a two-thirds majority. October 2012 www.cta.org 31