Day 129: Dear Governor, What'd I Ever Do to You?

Day 129, from the standpoint of teaching my class, was a typical day.  No issues, no worries.
And then...

We had an emergency union meeting regarding my state governor's budget proposal for public education. 

I wish I could say that everything was roses.

But it's not.

Gee, where to begin?  Well, first I would like to say that I am pleased (at this point) that our governor has not taken away or rallied to take away our collective bargaining rights.  Past that, I am not pleased.  Not pleased at all.  Here is a list of why my sunny day suddenly turned cloudy:

1. Pay freeze.  All public school employees, from custodians to cafeteria workers to secretaries to principals to teachers, have been asked to take a pay freeze for this coming school year, or there will be furloughs in my school district.  The governor says the districts across the state must do this to save the state thousands and thousands of dollars.  This, after he has proposed to cut over a BILLION dollars to public education and public state universities.  If ALL of the bargaining units in my district (and I dare say, others) do not accept pay freezes for the upcoming school year, then there will be furloughs, with notices as early as May.  In my district alone, that equates to a MINIMUM of 49 positions across all areas.
2. Cuts to the education budget.  My district stands to lose nearly 20% of its funding from the state. Our district projected a $927,000 shortfall after our budget was done earlier this month.  The district offered early retirement to those who were eligible and came close to a balanced budget.  When the governor gave his address (just several days  later), that shortfall grew to $2.6 million. I don't have to tell you what that means for any district in this situation.
(Interestingly, businesses and other companies/corporations have not been asked to "share in the sacrifice" to help make my state more fiscally sound.  In fact, companies have been allowed to use a nearby state for P.O. box mailing addresses while the companies do business here, thereby avoiding fees and taxes that should be paid to the state.)
3. 18 new proposed bills affecting teachers and other workers in education.  Some of the more pressing ones:

• One bill would allow districts to furlough teachers for purely economic reasons.  Seniority would not be the deciding factor in these decisions.  Not only that, but the furloughs would be allowed without school districts being required to cut costs through other means.
• Another bill would allow a version of merit pay for teachers.  Basically, if your test scores are reviewed and your class is not meeting the goal set aside by the state, you could be fired.  Note that this does not take the makeup of your class into account.  So if I have students who are learning the language, or students with special needs, or students who came to you as a lower group because of outside factors (lack of parent support, undiagnosed learning disabilities, etc.), I could risk kissing my job goodbye.
• Another bill would permit uncertified school nurses to be in the buildings.  (Sorry, but as a parent with a child with asthma and another with allergies that can result in anaphylaxis, I'd want a certified nurse in the building.) 

I believe we are going to take the pay freeze for this year (two nearby districts already have), partly to save jobs and partly to help the public's perception of teachers.  The public's overall impression of teachers here is that we work nine months out of the year and have summers off at the taxpayer's expense so we should just stop complaining about everything and let the governor do his job. 

Sorry, but until they've taught a mile in my shoes, they have nothing to say.  Yes, I'm a teacher, and that entails a lot more than nine months of work.  Some of my roles:

• Educator,
• Counselor,
• Parenting coach,
• Literary expert,
• Confidante,
• Entertainer,
• Nurse,
• Psychologist,
• Crisis manager,
• Psychiatrist, and
• Parent...

...Just to name a few.  I have fed children, clothed children, and provided basic school supplies for children.  I have been hit, threatened more times than I care to count (by students and parents), and called out of my name because I wanted to help a child that needed it. I have spent thousands of dollars providing my classes with items a nonexistent school budget couldn't provide, including pencils and writing paper for my students and copier paper for their work. I have endured several years of wondering if I would have a job because of budget cuts--years before the economic situation we are in now. I have taught students and their parents the English language.  I have taught children with all ranges of special education needs, from autism to deafness to bipolar disorder to emotional support.  I have spent years teaching students of various grade-level abilities (sometimes a range of kindergarten-level to fifth-grade level) in my second-grade-level classroom.  I spend my summers taking even more classes in education and planning how to implement those strategies for the next year. I'm up early, in the building early, stay late, and am to bed late...all in the name of a better education for a child.

...I KEEP COMING BACK BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN EDUCATION.