I just read the headlines.
Our schools are closing early due to budget shortfalls this year.... Since mortgages are being defaulted on in the bigger cities in the state, the State dollars from property taxes are less than projected.. and thus, the state dollars to the schools got cut... And, industries are shutting down...
Oh that's not all. There have been tons of meetings over the past months in anticipation of the shortfall. One elementary school in town is getting closed, one of the Middle school buildings is getting shut down, and all the elementary grades are being combined into like schools (1-3 in one school, 4-6 in another, etc.), and Kindergarten is moving to it's own wing in the High School... Crazy... OH.. and there was a 'draw straws' to see which teachers would get laid off. How fair is that? Some really good teachers lost their jobs while some OK teachers get to stay..
Families with multiple aged children could literally have their kids in multiple schools. The neighborhood schools are no longer. Except for ours. We are lucky. We are classified different since we are rural.
Our local taxes are up to snuff. Heck, in rural America, we are always in a recession! Seriously. Our median income in our County(total population 16,000) is $24,000. That is NOT a family wage at all. Believe me, as I job hunt, a $15/hour job seems like hitting the lotto!
OK.. Back to Schools:
Instead of getting out on June 4th, our last day will be May 28th...
One week earlier.
Yet, with Memorial Day on May 25th.. it's awfully tempting to say 'why bother' with a 3 day school week and instead hit the highway...
Who am I kidding? We can't afford a vacation!
Rats...
Perhaps we should enjoy every moment we can with our beloved teachers. We do have an awesome school. I love our itty bitty little rural school of only 80 kids for K-6th. And, the budget cuts are going to keep on coming... Who knows what will be in store for all of us next school year.
Sniff.
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7 comments:
Ouch! Sorry about the schools. There are so many bad things happening right now. Hopefully it will start getting better soon. Never heard about your cricut did it show up?
How Aful and scary too!! Still waiting on the baby lamb photos...LOL!
And YES...sis your die cutter ever show up???? So Want you to have one.
Jeeesh.... what an awful and akward situation!!!
Oh man, that's terrible, Andi! So sorry things are that bad there. I'm waiting for those green shoots...we *are* on the verge, I am standing in faith for it!
What a crummy way to deal with layoffs. I can't even imagine that drawing straws could work legally. So sorry for all the cuts Andi. Truly, the last week of school doesn't include much if any work anyways, so I think that would be a good solution for lots of school districts to save a little money.
Very interesting economic times for sure. I taught school for 24 years. I resigned 4 years ago. I know about all the school stuff. Take care friend!
I hear ya! We're in a small town (under 12,000) and a couple of years ago, they took out one elementary school altogether and split the other two up....K-2 in one, 3-5 in another, and moved the 6th graders up to the junior high. Consequently, my kidlets will Never get to go to school together! :< I've never heard of a draw straws method for selecting layoffs before. We have several really great teachers on the line for possible layoffs due to seniority (or lack of it). And the only reason the kids have any enrichment (music, art, & square dancing) is because of community support for funding. Scary, I think!! We're out on the 29th. Hope you find some fun adventures this summer with your kidlets, even if its at home (which is where we'll be!!). :>
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