Breaking Down the 80 Percent for Classroom Support

We know that 80 percent of the replacement levy dollars — if passed— will go toward classroom support. But what does that actually mean?

Classroom support will help maintain reduced class sizes, purchase of textbooks and classroom instructional materials, support of school libraries, student academic/career guidance and health room assistance including counselors, nurses and health clerks, educational program improvements (Gifted, ELL, special education and assessments) and districtwide teaching and learning activities, including training

This is a generic explanation, however I am going to break it down even more.

Anyone that has worked in a school knows that classroom sizes have grown tremendoulsy over the past few years. A major reason for this is the lack of money for not only teachers but teachers aids as well.

With the ability to afford more staff, schools will be able to cut class numbers down therefore providing more direct attention to the students. Kids in the present school system are lacking the one-on-one attention they sometimes need because the teachers just have too many students to tend to. So again its easy to understand, MORE STAFF = MORE CLASSROOMS = MORE ATTENTION TO STUDENTS INDIVIDUAL NEEDS = HIGHER TEST SCORES = HIGHER GRADUATION RATES.

I don't know about you but that equation sounds awesome.

Part of the 80 percent goes towards textbooks and classroom instructional materials. I remember when I was a kid that every student got a textbook to use for each subject for the school year. They were responsible for it but could use it at home as well as school. Now lets fast forward to present day. Textbooks for individual students are becoming a rareity more and more. Students in a lot of schools have to rely on sharing textbooks, sometimes because the textbooks are so scarce students can not even take them home.

This is a recipe for disaster.

How can kids do homework if they have nothing to resource from. Again the need for textbooks and the materials teachers use to help teach along with them are imperative to a childs success in school. Besides with the different ways kids are getting taught more every year I am fully expect when my 2-year-old is in second grade that he will be bringing home nuclear science books and, well, I can't help him with that homework only a textbook can.

Finally the added extras including library, councelors, nurses and special needs classes. Well I would hope the idea of staffing and funding a library is a no brainer. The day we don't have the ability to provide a resource center that is full of knowledge and learning such as a library is the day this world comes to a halt.

Counselors are such a huge commodity for schools yet one of the first things cut when budget is concerned. Many students for a plethora of reasons have issues that a normal teacher is incapable of dealing with. Counselors are the front line defense against children going down the wrong path with behavioral issues.

Nurses, hmm, I guess if we have a child with a high fever, that is vomitting, and crying, we can just put an ice pack on him/her and send them back to class, because that is exactly the kind of care our children are going to get without funded nurses in our schools. And last but very far from least special needs classes.

I had the ultimate privilege at one time in my career being a behavioral specialist working directly in special needs classrooms.There are no children that are in more need of one-on-one attention than those that society unfortunately casts aside. Without the funding children who are considered special needs will be put into mainstream classrooms.

Now for those of you who say oh well to that consider this: a special needs child is already struggling in most cases to keep up with their peers and in a mainstream classroom. Not only will they not be given the most possiblity for success, but also because of slim staffing for special needs students.

Tune in next time as I attempt to break down the next level of the Levy.

Don't forget to vote on Feb. 14.

KIDS ARE THE POINT