My district administrators have proposed over 20 million dollars in new cuts for next year.  Granted, I am from a large district, but these cuts are deep – deeper than I thought possible.   Most of these cuts come directly impact classroom instruction or maintenance.  None of the proposed cuts come from administration.

The only conclusion that I can make of these recommendations is that the administrative office no longer feels that it is important for schools to teach children.  Nor is it important to provide a safe place for them to learn.   Our function will become more of warehousing students, keeping track of them during the day, and less about actually teaching them something. 

Our district has proposed increasing class size.  This has been a common cost cutting measure in many districts throughout the country.  In most, it has meant increasing class size from 15 to 18 or 20.  In much of California, it is increasing class size from 20 to 30 in the earliest grades and the ninth grade English and math.   For the rest of 7-12 grade, classes may increase to as much as 42.  But for me, my class size won’t increase – last year, it was increased to 32 for grades 4,5, and 6.    It is controversial over whether or not merely reducing class size increases test scores, but it makes for much more effective teaching.  Teachers actually can spend time with each student to fully assess their needs, and they can make adjustments and modifications to the curriculum to meet these needs, for the second language learner, the learning disabled and the gifted. 

 In addition to increasing class size, the administration has recommended that all prep teaching positions be eliminated for elementary schools.  For the last several years, our schools have had science, computers and PE teachers at each school, which allowed each teacher from 1^st through 6^th grade, a 40 minute period a day, usually, to plan curriculum, correct papers, meet with grade-level teams, communicate with parents and analyze student data.  It also provided highly qualified teachers to provide specialized curriculum in science, PE and technology.  Last year, as part of the cuts made, prep was reduced to a 20 minute a day for 1^st through 3^rd grade teachers while the students are at lunch recess, and 100 minutes of PE prep for 4^th through 6^th grade.    We are left with less time to prepare, with more (PE, science and technology) to prepare for. 

 Next year, if they eliminate all prep, we will have to include planning and implementing PE in our planning time, of which we will have none.  I am not sure when the district administration would like me to plan, correct papers, or meet student individualized needs, let alone meet with colleagues or improve my teaching practice.  I am not sure the people who are making these decisions know that teaching is more than being in a room with 32 students.  It is more than opening a text book and reading a lesson to the kids.  Assessing learning is more than taking a publisher-provided test, scanned for correction.   

 The only conclusion I can come to is that we are just to hold the students in a room (a poorly maintained room, based on the custodial and maintenance proposed cuts), and make sure they don’t harm each other.  They can’t expect me to actually teach nor the kids to learn anything under these conditions. 

 They also are proposing early retirement packages, for both administration and teaching staff – which will mean that there will be more teachers and administrators with less experience.    

 I am not sure what next year – or beyond – is really going to look like.  I am not sure I am equipped for it all.     These kids deserve so much better.