BUDGET CUTS: The unintended effect of “keeping cuts away from the classroom”.

The following is from the California School Employees Association (CSEA) website . It is special interest advocacy for non-teaching school workers – ‘Classified Employees’ threatened byright-sizing and reductions-in-force – made by their bargaining unit on their behalf.

But read further and understand that “away from the classroom” important stuff for kids happens; eliminating non-classroom programs and reducing-in-force non-classroom employees has disastrous unintended consequences.

• School bus drivers do important stuff.
• Cafeteria staff (the ubiquitous ‘lunch ladies’) do important stuff.
• And School Librarians do very, very important stuff. The Library is the most important classroom in any school – it is there that independent study and independent thinking  …and learning for the just-plain-fun-of-it happens.    

We should all be so specially interested. —smf

Changing face of schools

Every year, it seems like school districts throughout California are forced to cut more and more services traditionally provided to help our students succeed. Everything from home-to-school transportation to nutritional services, to counseling and after-school programs has been reduced or eliminated because of funding shortages.

How important are these services? How does providing support services outside of the classroom really impact what happens in the classroom?

In this series, we examine some of the programs that school districts have conventionally provided to help California’s students achieve. Most of these services—generally provided by classified school employees—are in danger of vanishing because districts are continually being asked to tighten their belts by a state government that repeatedly fails to provide enough funds to keep these services alive

Part 1: The big yellow school bus eliminated by budget cuts

Everyday, 940,000 of California’s public school students hop on the big yellow bus that delivers them to their educational sanctuary. Most people would agree that safety is a top reason why school buses are indispensable, but despite the positive aspects of school buses, some districts are reducing school transportation or eliminating the service altogether...More

Part 2: Districts strive to provide nutritious meals despite cutbacks

When students are in school, it’s guaranteed that they are safe and will undoubtedly learn something new. If students eat a school breakfast or lunch, it’s guaranteed that the meals they receive are nutritious. Even though the state is tightening standards on what schools can serve, districts have to deal with the financial impact of having to serve better meals with less money...More

Part 3: How budget cuts are forcing school districts to cut library services

School libraries are sanctuaries where students can dig through large volumes of information. They are the only places in schools where all students have equal access to all of the books, media equipment and periodicals. Unfortunately, because of the cuts schools have to make to maintain balanced budgets in the face of less state funding, school libraries are suffering...More