On March 11, 2011, in Education Issues, Teachers, by Cyndi Danner-Kuhn
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
This is a letter from a teacher...
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On March 11, 2011, in Education Issues, Teachers, by Cyndi Danner-Kuhn
On March 11, 2011, in Education Issues, Teachers, by Cyndi Danner-Kuhn
My first letter to KS Politicians about our Education Funding: Do the cuts really matter?
Fellow educators,
I sent the following letter to our Governor, Lt. Governor, and all representatives in the House and Senate for Anderson County, KS on 3/14/11.
Their emails are as follows:
Bill Feuerborn <bill.feuerborn@house.ks.gov>,
Bill Otto <bill.otto@house.ks.gov>,
Bill Otto <bill.otto@house.ks.gov>,
Jana Schaver <jshaver@cableone.net>,
Jeff King <Jeff.King@senate.ks.gov>,
"John W. Bacon" <jwmsbacon@aol.com>,
Pat Apple <Pat.Apple@senate.ks.gov>,
governor@ks.gov,
lt.governor@ks.gov
I am a 9-12 grade science teacher from Anderson County Junior/Senior High School. I am writing to you in response to the current debates over education funding in our fine state.
We are hearing from Gov. Brownback that fifty million dollars is the fiscally responsible thing to do. Cut Kansas education by $50 million dollars? Well, after all, it is a majority of our state's budget. And those communities will just have to raise their taxes and fund their own schools, okay. Do the cuts really matter?
Well, if a QUALITY education mattered for YOU and matters now for YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, then YES, the cuts matter. Especially, in my district, where 52.75% of my school's students are on free/reduced lunch and my wages are $36,000 per year after eleven years of teaching science for grades 9-12. I am in Anderson County, Kansas.
Assumption #1: Money can be raised locally. Well, it would ultimately force local communities into raising taxes to support there own districts. You are assuming though that rural areas HAVE industry to help, which in Anderson County, KS, (like many rural counties) we do not. The small amount of business that is present would not generate enough to fill in the deficit left by the lack of state funding.
Assumption #2: People will support paying taxes for their own schools. They will want to support the schools, any good parent does. However, in the midst of all of this unemployment? Our school has seen a dramatic increase in free and reduced lunches due to their caregivers losing their jobs in the last two years. You can't get blood from a turnip!
Assumption #3: Even with the cuts we made in the last two years, the school districts have made it. Yes - thanks to the stimulus money that came through last year! My school district has already cut custodial staff, kitchen staff, paraprofessionals, and secretaries. Now, like many districts, we are looking for how to cut the budget by another $500,000. It may mean cutting teachers. With the current and disturbing changes being discussed for KPERS, our most qualified, experienced, and excellent teachers (our veterans and mentors of the field), will most likely cut their losses to get their KPERS.
Assumption #4: So, you cut some teachers and increase the student to teacher ratio. Big deal? Have you ever been in a classroom with 25 or more teenagers? Or 25 or more 1st graders? What would you like that ratio to be for your own child or grandchild? Classroom management aside, the one-on-one personalized education initiative of the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) will fail. And even though, politicians will want a continuous increase in test scores, they are cutting us at the knees to reach that goal!
Assumption #5: Our test scores have continued to rise in the state despite changes or lack of funding to schools. You cannot have great test scores with overcrowded classrooms, lower quality teachers (bye, bye vets going to get their KPERS), and by taking away collaborative time for those who choose to remain a K-12 educator after all of this. My school district is looking at moving from a block schedule to a seven-period day...even though our Science and English scores have continuously increased throughout the years. During state testing, we are mandated to provide accommodations for students who need them. However, we are short of staff to actually make those accommodations available, so many teachers (like me) have chipped in by making my classroom and planning period time available as a proctor for our state assessments so that accommodations can be made.
Assumption #6: Those teachers are lazy and making easy money with their summers off. I haven't had a summer off from becoming a better educator, taking courses, getting training, and creating new and improved lesson plans since I started this career in 1999. If you have actually been in education (and you stayed in the regular classroom for more than five years), then you know that educators must go to continuous professional development and/or back to school due to the present re-certification/ licensing requirements, and they are usually doing so on an already low salary (...sorry, my district is NOT in Johnson County!).
Assumption #7: You were in K-12 education once, so you know what it is like now. I do not pretend to know the job of politicians just because I watch the news and have been a voting citizen since 1995. Please do not pretend to know what the world of education is today. It has changed dramatically since you were in K-12. The world of education keeps changing and so has the craft of a teacher! As a science teacher, I hear from society and politicians that you want your kids to be 21st Century ready! Skilled master teachers, like myself, are smart and we do a damned good job of caring for and teaching kids, despite the ludicrous description of educators from Gov. Brownback. We are, however, not here to be your slaves.
Assumption #8: Common sense tells us Brownback's plan is the one we should follow. Voters will understand that we are trying to keep the state from going bankrupt. I am a voter and I do not understand how taking money from an already underfunded education budget makes things better for my three daughters. All professions come from the profession of teaching. To me, it seems that without EDUCATORS to produce skilled, collaborative, 21st century learners ready to tackle whatever challenges exist, then you won't be getting those intelligent, self-reliant workers that you desire for the state at any level. A well-educated society is the "road map" for our future!
Assumption #9: We'll just recruit new, young teachers to fill the spots. Common sense tells you that they are the cheaper, less costly bunch of the budget. Common sense should also tell you that they are the least experienced and most likely to leave. I am my district's junior/senior high mentoring coordinator. Any new teacher to our building or new career teacher comes through my mentoring program. It was already hard to keep a teacher from leaving the profession within 3-5 years, but throw in low salaries, lack of supportive staff, increased student to teacher ratios, lack of supplies and equipment, and what reason do they have to stay? In my content area, teachers are picked up by the private sector for positions such as chemists, biologists, etc. Take a look at how many SCIENCE education majors we have graduating our colleges in this state! The pickings are slim! You can love kids all you want, but in the end, you've got to make a living. I cannot beat the dangling carrot of the business world when people with the same degrees in teaching are making so much less.
Assumption #10: I must be an underpaid, grudge-filled, lazy teacher, and my comments should just be dismissed. I have attached my resume for your enlightenment. I am an award-winning teacher, a member of the Kansas Educators Exemplary Network, which you cannot be unless you have been honored as an excellent teacher through the National Board Certification or Teacher Awards program (KS Teacher of the Year, Presidential Award nominee, etc.). I am in the trenches, loving my students, and so thankful that I get to teach for a living...but I am working in a state under a governor that does not seem to care about my students or the three girls I have at home making their way through the education system of Kansas.
Please consider your children and mine before you break the backs of those carrying on the most important job in any economy.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
--
Jeanna M. Scheve
Anderson County Jr/Sr High School
Science Teacher, 9-12 grades
USD #365 Mentoring Jr/Sr High Coordinator
785-448-3115, ext. 126
We are hearing from Gov. Brownback that fifty million dollars is the fiscally responsible thing to do. Cut Kansas education by $50 million dollars? Well, after all, it is a majority of our state's budget. And those communities will just have to raise their taxes and fund their own schools, okay. Do the cuts really matter?
Well, if a QUALITY education mattered for YOU and matters now for YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, then YES, the cuts matter. Especially, in my district, where 52.75% of my school's students are on free/reduced lunch and my wages are $36,000 per year after eleven years of teaching science for grades 9-12. I am in Anderson County, Kansas.
Assumption #1: Money can be raised locally. Well, it would ultimately force local communities into raising taxes to support there own districts. You are assuming though that rural areas HAVE industry to help, which in Anderson County, KS, (like many rural counties) we do not. The small amount of business that is present would not generate enough to fill in the deficit left by the lack of state funding.
Assumption #2: People will support paying taxes for their own schools. They will want to support the schools, any good parent does. However, in the midst of all of this unemployment? Our school has seen a dramatic increase in free and reduced lunches due to their caregivers losing their jobs in the last two years. You can't get blood from a turnip!
Assumption #3: Even with the cuts we made in the last two years, the school districts have made it. Yes - thanks to the stimulus money that came through last year! My school district has already cut custodial staff, kitchen staff, paraprofessionals, and secretaries. Now, like many districts, we are looking for how to cut the budget by another $500,000. It may mean cutting teachers. With the current and disturbing changes being discussed for KPERS, our most qualified, experienced, and excellent teachers (our veterans and mentors of the field), will most likely cut their losses to get their KPERS.
Assumption #4: So, you cut some teachers and increase the student to teacher ratio. Big deal? Have you ever been in a classroom with 25 or more teenagers? Or 25 or more 1st graders? What would you like that ratio to be for your own child or grandchild? Classroom management aside, the one-on-one personalized education initiative of the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) will fail. And even though, politicians will want a continuous increase in test scores, they are cutting us at the knees to reach that goal!
Assumption #5: Our test scores have continued to rise in the state despite changes or lack of funding to schools. You cannot have great test scores with overcrowded classrooms, lower quality teachers (bye, bye vets going to get their KPERS), and by taking away collaborative time for those who choose to remain a K-12 educator after all of this. My school district is looking at moving from a block schedule to a seven-period day...even though our Science and English scores have continuously increased throughout the years. During state testing, we are mandated to provide accommodations for students who need them. However, we are short of staff to actually make those accommodations available, so many teachers (like me) have chipped in by making my classroom and planning period time available as a proctor for our state assessments so that accommodations can be made.
Assumption #6: Those teachers are lazy and making easy money with their summers off. I haven't had a summer off from becoming a better educator, taking courses, getting training, and creating new and improved lesson plans since I started this career in 1999. If you have actually been in education (and you stayed in the regular classroom for more than five years), then you know that educators must go to continuous professional development and/or back to school due to the present re-certification/ licensing requirements, and they are usually doing so on an already low salary (...sorry, my district is NOT in Johnson County!).
Assumption #7: You were in K-12 education once, so you know what it is like now. I do not pretend to know the job of politicians just because I watch the news and have been a voting citizen since 1995. Please do not pretend to know what the world of education is today. It has changed dramatically since you were in K-12. The world of education keeps changing and so has the craft of a teacher! As a science teacher, I hear from society and politicians that you want your kids to be 21st Century ready! Skilled master teachers, like myself, are smart and we do a damned good job of caring for and teaching kids, despite the ludicrous description of educators from Gov. Brownback. We are, however, not here to be your slaves.
Assumption #8: Common sense tells us Brownback's plan is the one we should follow. Voters will understand that we are trying to keep the state from going bankrupt. I am a voter and I do not understand how taking money from an already underfunded education budget makes things better for my three daughters. All professions come from the profession of teaching. To me, it seems that without EDUCATORS to produce skilled, collaborative, 21st century learners ready to tackle whatever challenges exist, then you won't be getting those intelligent, self-reliant workers that you desire for the state at any level. A well-educated society is the "road map" for our future!
Assumption #9: We'll just recruit new, young teachers to fill the spots. Common sense tells you that they are the cheaper, less costly bunch of the budget. Common sense should also tell you that they are the least experienced and most likely to leave. I am my district's junior/senior high mentoring coordinator. Any new teacher to our building or new career teacher comes through my mentoring program. It was already hard to keep a teacher from leaving the profession within 3-5 years, but throw in low salaries, lack of supportive staff, increased student to teacher ratios, lack of supplies and equipment, and what reason do they have to stay? In my content area, teachers are picked up by the private sector for positions such as chemists, biologists, etc. Take a look at how many SCIENCE education majors we have graduating our colleges in this state! The pickings are slim! You can love kids all you want, but in the end, you've got to make a living. I cannot beat the dangling carrot of the business world when people with the same degrees in teaching are making so much less.
Assumption #10: I must be an underpaid, grudge-filled, lazy teacher, and my comments should just be dismissed. I have attached my resume for your enlightenment. I am an award-winning teacher, a member of the Kansas Educators Exemplary Network, which you cannot be unless you have been honored as an excellent teacher through the National Board Certification or Teacher Awards program (KS Teacher of the Year, Presidential Award nominee, etc.). I am in the trenches, loving my students, and so thankful that I get to teach for a living...but I am working in a state under a governor that does not seem to care about my students or the three girls I have at home making their way through the education system of Kansas.
Please consider your children and mine before you break the backs of those carrying on the most important job in any economy.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
--
Jeanna M. Scheve
Anderson County Jr/Sr High School
Science Teacher, 9-12 grades
USD #365 Mentoring Jr/Sr High Coordinator
785-448-3115, ext. 126
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