The Texas Legislature ultimately voted in favor of the proposal to reduce the budget allotted for public education in Texas. After initially being passed by the House, the Senate failed to agree with the proposal, forcing the House to alter certain aspects of the budget cuts. The revised proposal eventually passed during the special session, finalizing the educational cuts.
The fact that this idea was passed astonishes me, because of the potential negative impact it will have among students and teachers alike. The approved budget bill is said to cut four billion dollars from public schools, which is an astronomical percentage of the total. In order to make up for these cuts Texas school districts are having to lay off hundreds of teachers and reduce funding for many extracurricular programs and activities that enhance a child’s educational experience, such as the fine arts programs. In addition to teachers, many other school employees are being laid off as well. For example, at the schools in my neighborhood the counseling secretaries and lunch ladies are being told they can volunteer for these positions, but will no longer get paid. Though these jobs appear to be small in comparison to a principle or science teacher they are the ones to complete the tasks that allow for the Texas public schools to run smoothly. In addition, to the job reduction, these budget cuts are expected to reduce school supplies used in the classrooms.
Although, many support these cuts because it saves them from having to pay higher taxes, many predict that local school districts will in fact still need to raise taxes to offset these drastic cuts. Therefore, the result will still be the same that many were trying to initially avoid. I dread seeing what the impact of these budget cuts will have on the students and parents of Texas.
I agree with your sentiment entirely. The core subjects have always been of the most value to the Texans in charge of our education, but even those are being forced to take on almost unreasonably large classes due to these budget cuts. Last year in the Pflugerville school district, they removed half of the light bulbs in each classroom in order to save money on electricity. When being pushed to this level of desperation, so many things fall. Including teachers. Just like students, teachers who are forced to go through their career looking over their shoulder and expecting the axe for no reason at all, aren't going to perform as well as those who feel supported by their administration, and their government.
ReplyDeleteLunch ladies, librarians, fine arts teachers, all on the chopping block because they are viewed as "expendable" to our government that has decided education is the place to cut. Another issue here is, what message does that send to the youth? The students in these schools? Those things that are cut only lower the expectations of those educators in the eyes of students. If they don't see the government, and their community, supporting teachers and education, why should they value it?