Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2868
are for another $2.5 million in cuts next year. TTA members say Torrance schools have al- ready been cut to the bone. “We have less money for supplies and mate- rials,” laments world history and psychology teacher Joey Walker. “There is no money for ink cartridges for our printers. We have to get those on our own. I give kids extra credit for bringing in their own paper, markers and tissue.” “I don’t get it,” continues Walker. “These kids are the next generation, and we want them to do well. But we don’t give them the materials they need to be successful.” Dustin Tygret, a senior at the school who led a letter writing campaign against budget cuts last spring, also doesn’t get it. “I’ve seen my classes jump in size and I’ve seen very qualified teachers leave because there’s no funding for them. I’ve seen my teachers able to offer a lot less individual atten- tion. When you have too many students in a classroom you don’t have that student-teacher connection that is so important. In some ways, what we have here in Torrance no longer con- stitutes a suitable learning environment.” San Jose Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose has a new library filled with 12,000 books. But most of the time students can’t access the facility because the librarian position has been eliminated as part of $14 million in cuts this year. Library media teacher Julie Pratico was reassigned to the classroom as an English teacher, as were 10 librarians at other sites in the 18-campus Eastside Union High School District. Pratico went from working in the library full time to being there just one period per day. The rest of the time the library is closed, with a metal grill keeping students out. “I fear that we will have a population that won’t know what school libraries are all about,” laments Pratico, a member of the East- side Teachers Association (ETA). “I can hear Ray Bradbury saying, ‘We need to memorize books now, because they won’t be on the shelf much longer,’ just like Fahrenheit 451. I am very scared that school libraries will cease to exist. Libraries aren’t just academic centers, they are also social centers where students can keep warm, huddle together and talk about anything.” Students say it’s a huge inconvenience — and unfair — to be deprived of using their Other school districts severely impacted by budget cuts ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ In the San Diego Unifi ed High School District, there are 40 to 50 students in some high school classes, according to San Diego Education Association Vice President Marc Capitelli. Teachers, he says, feel like they are being “hammered by the cuts” and are very distressed. For the most part, only magnet schools have music or art programs unless they are paid for by parent foundations. Librarians are being removed from schools or are being forced to “share” school sites. Los Angeles Unifi ed School District cut $427 million this year, and has plans to increase class size in grades 4-6, with more grades to follow. The district is also attempting to have teachers take furloughs, or unpaid days off, to cope with the shortfall, which the union is fi ghting. “At this point it’s only speculation as to what draconian cuts will happen next, although it’s clear that draconian cuts will happen,” says A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. “The budget is horrendous.” Capistrano Unifi ed School District cut $20 million for this year and is looking at another $11 million to $12 million without any ❖ ❖ ❖❖❖ ❖ ❖ midyear cuts. School transportation was slashed and 56 bus drivers were laid off. “I don’t know where else they can cut,” says Vicki Soderberg, president of the Capistrano Unifi ed Education Association. “There’s no wiggle room.” Orange Unifi ed eliminated class size reduction in third grade and for ninth-grade math and English. Third-grade classrooms now have as many as 34 students per class and high school classes are in the 40s. In order to balance the budget this year, the Anaheim Union High School District increased class sizes in all grades, reduced the number of counselors, and consolidated four continuation schools into two sites, resulting in a reduction of teachers, counselors and administrators. Many classifi ed positions were also cut. In the Lemoore Union Elementary School District, located south of Fresno, many classes have 36 to 38 students, especially when it comes to history and science. The district’s middle school is in year 5 of Program Improvement under No Child Left Behind and faces sanctions if test scores don’t improve. Last year the school made Adequate Yearly Progress. However, academic progress this year and a chance to move out of PI are threatened by more cuts, says Jackie Crusha, president of Lemoore Elementary Teachers Association. Hundreds of veteran teachers have left the Sacramento City Unifi ed School District, and new teachers report that they have nobody to mentor them, says Linda Tuttle, president of the Sacramento City Teachers Association. Veteran teachers took “buyouts” offered by the fi nancially strapped district, which replaced them with new teachers and lower salaries. “One wonderful teacher and future leader received a layoff notice, was asked to return, and left me a voicemail saying she couldn’t go through this every year,” says Tuttle. “In the last four years we have lost 400 teachers having valuable experience, who were mentors at their sites. Now I have many sites with new teachers who say they have nobody to turn to when they need help and support.” In Elk Grove, sizes have increased for high school math classes with sometimes as many as 40 students, and third-grade class size reduction has been eliminated. Supplies have been cut and teachers are paying for many items out of pocket. In the Stanislaus Union School District, teachers, education support professionals, kindergarten aides and others have been laid off. Class sizes have increased in middle school and course offerings have been reduced. Rosedale Union Elementary School District in Bakersfi eld has cut class size reduction programs in kindergarten, pink-slipped seven staff members, cut after-school sports and all fi eld trips, postponed building a new school that is long overdue, and made $1.5 million worth of cuts. In Redlands, classifi ed school employee positions vacant through attrition have been replaced by temporary and substitute employees, says Mike Shanteler, president of the Redlands Education Support Professionals Association. Statewide, ESP positions are being reduced everywhere due to budget cuts, says Michael Musser, a member of the Ventura Classifi ed Employees Association and an NEA Board member. NOVEMBER 2008 | www.cta.org 21