Students, Teachers Speak Out Against State For Budget Cuts
Teachers and students in American Falls are outraged over how state education budget cuts have left their schools behind. They got the chance to make their voices heard on Monday when American Falls replaced Boise as capital for a day.
“When you don’t have textbooks with the correct and proper pages, you don’t get your assignments done,” said American Falls senior Zoie Laggis.
Laggis and fellow senior Mikell Nie said it’s a reality to have textbooks in their high school with more than 10 pages missing. On Monday, the two students, their classmates and teachers questioned Idaho State Schools Superintendent Tom Luna and Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter about their campaign promises.
“We can’t be the ‘People of Tomorrow’ because our resources are being cut and our education isn’t where it needs to be,” Laggis said.
Luna answered with the state’s attempt to go digital using the Idaho Education Network, a $40 million effort to connect every high school and university in the state.
“(We’ll be) making sure hardware and software and connectivity is there so that we don’t have the issue of slow Internet speeds in schools anymore,” Luna said.
Luna said online versions of books will eliminate crumbling physical ones. He also emphasized focusing on the quality of teachers. But teachers argued that stagnant and staggeringly low salary levels keep them from helping kids and themselves.
“I am a single mother, and the only income we have is my income. If they cut pay again, I will have to find another job. I will have to do something else to support my family. And I don’t want to,” said American Falls theater, communications and speech and debate teacher Dana Facer.
“If the discussion is only about pay, you’re discounting an awful valuable value that we have in our teachers. A lot of teachers are in that classroom because they want to be there,” Otter said in response.
Teachers think the administration is missing the point.
“We’re still teachers because we care about these kids. And we’re going to keep teaching, but does that really send a message to us that we’re appreciated? No. And eventually, the fire’s going to burn out and we’re not going to be able to keep doing this,” said American Falls government and English as a Second Language teacher Caroline White.
Luna said tens of thousands of dollars will be pumped into each high school for new technology, and they should all be connected by the end of the 2012 school year.
