The budget cuts our district faces are extraordinary this year. As a protest to these cuts, there will be a rally outside of the campus during the morning before school on Thursday, March 4. Teachers wearing black with bandage strips as a show of solidarity against the disproportionate cuts education faces in the wake of the state budget crisis. While education takes up 41% of the state budget, the public school system has been charged with 60% of the impact. Besides increased class sizes, earlier start times, and a lack of proper staffing in many vital areas for next year, many teachers, administrators and classified staff will find themselves on the chopping block due to these cuts.
Ultimately, my job will be harder to do but that's the least of my concerns. I spent today at a workshop that constantly reiterated that teachers need to put the students first. These cuts put the students last in so many ways. I plan to protest on Thursday because teaching is not just a job nor a career but something for which I have a tremendous passion. Teaching matters to me. I'd like to keep doing it with the support necessary to do it well.
Hah! I can see how both "awesome" and "lame" apply here.
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