Local school district struggles with budget cuts:
The City my wife works within failed to pass a parcel tax that was designed to supplement the anemic school district budget. The Measure failed 63% to 37%...they needed 66% for it to pass. The 37% can party it up now.
The next day, my wife was handed a pink slip.
Understandably, we're upset. My wife really found a home at this school. The kids were great, the administrators at the school rocked, her co-workers were wonderful, and her commute was a cinch. She'll miss the school and her school is saddened to see her leave. Oh well...back to the drawing board.
Above and beyond how this budget crisis affects me and my wife personally, I was utterly shocked at how these cuts would affect the children. Her school district had already struggled with too few School Counselors at the Elementary School level. That situation has worsened to a point where you're laughing out loud from the abject lunacy and crying at the same time from sadness and hopelessness.
Why? Her School District has now cut the Counseling staff at the Elementary School level to a point where EACH of the TWO (as in "2", like one plus one equals TWO) counselors carry a caseload of 3000...NOT a TYPO. Yes THREE-THOUSAND EACH. Furthermore, these two poor souls will be spread across NINE schools...NOT a TYPO. Yes NINE. Are we living in a frickin THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!!!
The situation is absurd. Any decent and sane person would be outraged. But at WHO? Depending on your political leanings, you'll hear different blame-games. I don't GIVE A SHIT at this point. Our State's inability to get their spending act in shape is impacting the health and welfare of children (not to mention the disabled cohort I work with...but that's another story).
How can these TWO counselors address the psycho-social needs of SIX THOUSAND CHILDREN.
- How many need testing?
- How many need special-ed services?
- How many need one-on-one counseling?
- How many are dealing with abuse and violence at home?
- How many are dealing with drugs and gangs?
- How many are dealing with bullying?
- How many are dealing with suicide, self-mutilation, and depression?
- How many need group counseling?
- How many need family counseling?
- How many are struggling with grief, death and loss?
- How many have no parents?
- How many have ineffectual parents?
- How many are in poverty?
- How many need case-management?
- How many need confict mediation?
- How many just need someone to talk to?
I'm going to leave you with that. Feel free to let it soak it in. Party it up tax-payers! We really showed these kids whose Boss, huh! Pull yourselves up by the bootstraps kids cause you're on you're own!
The next day, my wife was handed a pink slip.
Understandably, we're upset. My wife really found a home at this school. The kids were great, the administrators at the school rocked, her co-workers were wonderful, and her commute was a cinch. She'll miss the school and her school is saddened to see her leave. Oh well...back to the drawing board.
Above and beyond how this budget crisis affects me and my wife personally, I was utterly shocked at how these cuts would affect the children. Her school district had already struggled with too few School Counselors at the Elementary School level. That situation has worsened to a point where you're laughing out loud from the abject lunacy and crying at the same time from sadness and hopelessness.
Why? Her School District has now cut the Counseling staff at the Elementary School level to a point where EACH of the TWO (as in "2", like one plus one equals TWO) counselors carry a caseload of 3000...NOT a TYPO. Yes THREE-THOUSAND EACH. Furthermore, these two poor souls will be spread across NINE schools...NOT a TYPO. Yes NINE. Are we living in a frickin THIRD WORLD COUNTRY!!!
The situation is absurd. Any decent and sane person would be outraged. But at WHO? Depending on your political leanings, you'll hear different blame-games. I don't GIVE A SHIT at this point. Our State's inability to get their spending act in shape is impacting the health and welfare of children (not to mention the disabled cohort I work with...but that's another story).
How can these TWO counselors address the psycho-social needs of SIX THOUSAND CHILDREN.
- How many need testing?
- How many need special-ed services?
- How many need one-on-one counseling?
- How many are dealing with abuse and violence at home?
- How many are dealing with drugs and gangs?
- How many are dealing with bullying?
- How many are dealing with suicide, self-mutilation, and depression?
- How many need group counseling?
- How many need family counseling?
- How many are struggling with grief, death and loss?
- How many have no parents?
- How many have ineffectual parents?
- How many are in poverty?
- How many need case-management?
- How many need confict mediation?
- How many just need someone to talk to?
I'm going to leave you with that. Feel free to let it soak it in. Party it up tax-payers! We really showed these kids whose Boss, huh! Pull yourselves up by the bootstraps kids cause you're on you're own!
posted by supergoober at
3:39 PM
3 Comments:
Ouch... the RWC ESD parcel tax measure also failed over here by about the same margin.
We're getting hit pretty hard by the budget as well, but nothing as absurd as that. Its also a shame that it seemed like all the stars were lined up with her job, yet the proverbial rug got removed from under her.
If we look at a certain High School in Palo Alto which is having a seriously bad issue with kids who really really really need a shoulder or someone to talk with... (i.e. suicide by CalTrain) no one would dare suggest they do something along the lines your ESD has done.
Its a pretty sad state of affairs we're dealt with right now... but i've always felt that these are the times we must be pro-active and start reminding our elected officials of our displeasure, and the fact that we vote. An email a week can be good for the soul.
I'm sorry about the wife man. Seems that the apocalypse is coming slowly but surely, starting in California.
Let us pray.
That freaking irks me Dude. Sorry to hear about it, but I'm not surprised. I mean, c'mon...counslers don't do anything in school really.... Yeah right...my ass they don't. Maybe if the Superintendant of Schools only paid him/herself 60 K instead of 200K maybe there'd be more money. The school board is who needs to go as they are useless.
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