Everyone has to make some sacrifices.
Tony Bennett, superintendent of public instruction, defended the above sentiment Tuesday night at the Indiana State Teacher's Association 2010 Legislative Kickoff. Teachers from around Indiana were in attendance to get answers about Gov. Mitch Daniels recent $300 million budget cuts on K-12 schools. Bennett, surrounded by worried and passionate teachers, attempted to answer questions satisfactorily.
'One of the things we keep trying to tell school corporations is everybody has to have some sacrifice,' Bennett said. 'Everybody has to have some skin in the game.'
The state Board of Education sent a 'citizens' checklist' to all school boards and corporations in Indiana. The checklist consists of the board's proposed measures schools can take to cope with the cutbacks. The proposals include monetary and program adjustments as well as adjustments that can reduce the cost of staff 'without affecting instruction,' the list says. Reducing or rolling back the present salary and benefits of all employees was a suggestion on the list.
Giving such advice when there are still students studying to become teachers makes for a difficult situation, Bennett said.
'It's a tough discussion to have,' Bennett said. 'But you've got to have it if you're going to save teachers. Are all teachers willing to save the young teachers?'
Hollye Blossom, a teacher at Meister Elementary School of the River Forest Community School Corporation in Hobart, said she is not afraid about being laid off because of the cuts, but is afraid for young and future teachers.
'We [25-year teaching veterans] aren't worried about our jobs,' Blossom said. 'We've been working for a long time. It's the younger teachers we're worried about.'
Blossom said the average number of students in Meister Elementary classes, a Title 1 school, is anywhere from 23 to 25 and it is still difficult to address every student's needs. The outsourcing of staff such as bus drivers and custodians has hindered the familiarity and connection staff can have with students, citing a incident in which a student got off at the wrong bus stop and was far from home, Blossom said.
Evan Camp, a science teacher at Greenwood Middle School in Greenwood, asked Bennett how teachers can be judged by the performance of the students. When told that students will be evaluated by growth over a period of a year, Camp said that each student cannot grow at a rate identical to all other children. Other than worrying about overcrowding, Camp said that some students are more concerned with needs outside the classroom.
'What do you do with a student who was raped the night before?' Camp said. 'What if they haven't eaten since yesterday? How can I be judged by that student's performance when what they need most is a hug?'
Gerri McIver, a 12-year Spanish teacher at Maple Crest Middle School in Kokomo, said that by next year, her entire department will be cut in half. Her school is doing away with the Spanish program. The program originally gave students first semester high school credit during 7th grade and second semester credit during the 8th grade year. Next year, there will only be 8th graders taking Spanish while the 7th graders no longer have it, McIver said.
ISTA President Nate Schnellenberger shared his organization's sentiment that students are too complex for funding to be determined by their performance. Teaching cannot be evaluated in a rigid fashion, he said.
'[Teaching] is not just a one-on-one thing,' Schnellenberger said. 'That child's home life and their economic status affect the teaching. They're not all the same; they're not all little robots.'
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