Budget cuts to affect students
March 12, 2010
With the cuts the district made this year, and the amount of money they will need to cut next year, any number of important programs.
I still have two-and-a-half years of high school left. And the way things are going, it’s very possible that, at the end of that time period, Northwest won’t be nearly as great of a place to go to school as it is now.
Almost $11 million were cut from the SMSD budget for this year. The cuts for next year haven’t been announced yet, but, according to the budget and finance director for the district, Tim Rooney, district officials expect to slice another $10 million or so from next year’s budget to meet the state’s budget deficit.
With the cuts that were made this year, programs like “teachers on assignment” and “New Beginnings” were lost. But, in reality, who knows what those programs actually did?
The district did that on purpose. They cut the things that they knew would have little to no affect on the majority of students. And they did a pretty good job. A lot of money was cut from the budget, and I barely noticed it.
But when the district has to cut another $10 million or more for next year, what will be cut? The most expensive programs are things like honors, AP or IB classes with 10 or fewer students and the gymnastics team. They already eliminated everything that students don’t care about, so what’s next? According to Rooney, everything is on the chopping block.
It seems like arts are one of the first things to be considered when the district is talking about making budget cuts. Northwest is a great place to go to school partially because of the great art and music programs. With every program being considered for cuts, the art programs may well take a punch in the gut.
If I didn’t have newspaper, orchestra, and cross country, I would never want to go to school. I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to during the day. Just going from English to math to science to Spanish and then home would make the high school experience so much less enriching.
And even more to the point, newspaper and orchestra are the two classes I learn the most in. I don’t spend that time taking notes about how to find the determinant of a matrix or how many moles of sodium chloride are in 2.65 grams. I learn how to work with people and how to manage time, and, most importantly, those are the places I learn what the real world is going to be like.
Students who are involved in extracurricular activities are also more likely to graduate from high school, become leaders, voice opinions and complete tasks, according to the Montana State University Extension Service.
Extracurricular activities are what makes Northwest, and the whole Shawnee Mission School District, a great place to go to school. If all of our programs eventually get cut because the people in Topeka refuse to raise taxes or just can’t come to an agreement about what’s best for the future of public education, the future is going to be rather bleak.
Rusty Shackleford • Mar 17, 2010 at 12:37 am
Budget cuts are an interesting predicament. Something or someone always has to go. And of course, as you mentioned, taxes go up. However, there are ways to make budget cuts that have a smaller impact on activities as a whole. For example, instead of firing employees offer an ultimatum, keep your job but work for a reduced salary or resign from your position. And if you have to fire someone, take into consideration the work they ACTUALLY do. Let’s compare, an overworked and underpaid custodian or a pencil pusher that makes $50,000 plus a year. In this district the janitor would probably get fired.
And on to the topic of raising taxes. Of course, the obvious way for the state to make money is to raise taxes. It may come as a surprise to you that the state might be able to make more money by lowering taxes, which may not show instant results but pays off in the long run. How, you might ask? Because when people have more money they tend to spend more of it too. What happens to businesses when people are spending money? Simple, businesses are attracted to areas where consumers are buying. If the state can attract business, then there will be more money for the state to collect.
And now to the most important question. Is it fair for us to complain about things that might be lost to budget cuts? Just think of the generations that worked so hard so that we can enjoy a very wide variety of electives and extracurricular activites. Many of those people didn’t get a chance to enjoy anything we can now. Think about the generations that forged this country into what it is through blood and sacrifice, think about the children who worked in factories so their families could have a roof over their heads and food on the table, and the people in this very state that lost everything to banks and the dust bowl. Even today we can enjoy things that children in developing countries couldn’t even dream of.