Economic troubles reach into the classroom

By René Hill

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

The economic erosion has hit the classrooms of Clark County in numerous areas.

As you may be aware, the textbook budget was cut, so students are working with only existing texts. The impact of this is that no books are being replaced if they have been damaged or vandalized. This is a great frustration in many schools, since the students have not been held accountable for the condition of the books they use.

The result is that many books can no longer be used, and most teachers are unable to check a book out to each student. We are all stuck with a "class set" of books to be shared.

This proves challenging, because in many schools, high absentee rates make it difficult for students to catch up on work that must be completed in class. The challenge has increased further due to the fact that, in addition to the other cuts, the operating budgets of our schools have been slashed 50 percent to 70 percent.

The availability of copy paper is almost non-existent in many schools.

With few textbooks and limited paper, it is all but impossible to make copies of book pages so that an absent student can make up work at home. As teachers, we are very frustrated with the situation.

Parents I have talked to are shocked at the result of the state's shortfall. The unintended victim in all of this is the education of our most precious resource: our children.

As a result of the money situation, I and many of my colleagues are spending much more of our own money on classroom supplies that are normally available through the operating budget of the school.

Imagine going to work one day and being told by your boss that, because of economic hardship and inadequate funds, the materials and tools you need to do your job are no longer available and that if you want to do your job effectively, you will have to buy the supplies you need out of your own pocket. I don't think many employees would stay on the job long under these conditions.

With the school year only beginning, it is difficult to imagine what the coming months will bring in unanticipated shortages. Our biggest support has come through the parents of our students, who have been generous when possible.

The students who are really hit hard by all the economic cuts are the children in the Title I schools. Most of those children come from circumstances that don't allow frivolous expenditures on school supplies. Their families are too busy trying to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

The students from these families need the best education our society purports to support just as much as, if not more than, any other child.

I suppose the final word here is that we need to make it clear to the state powers that depriving our students of their education through massive budget cuts is not an acceptable solution to the state's budget crisis.

Rene Hill is an English teacher in the Clark County School District. She can be reached c/o The News, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074 or [email protected].