Amanda Phipps will not be able to go to Gov. Mitch Daniels' forum today — she has to student teach — but she would have liked to go and hear what the governor has to say about recent education cuts.
Cuts on Indiana K-12 education, which add up to $300 million for this year, are having a dramatic effect on schools all over the state, such as cuts on programs and schools themselves.
On Friday, the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation announced it would close four of its elementary schools after deciding they would have to reduce their expenditures by $6.6 million. On Tuesday, the New Castle Community School board of trustees decided to close one of their elementary schools.
Phipps, a senior elementary education major, said she understood budget cuts had to be done, but was worried about what the consequences of these cuts mean for student teachers.
"I would like to see research being done about ways of cutting the education budget without it affecting teachers so much," she said. "It's not fair that teachers that have a full time and a half job are struggling to keep their jobs."
The forum, which will be held in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom at 10 a.m. today, will give students, staff and faculty the opportunity to speak with the governor about their concerns and views on issues the state is going through.
The reduction in state funding on education is just one of the issues schools in Indiana are facing. Daniels announced Monday that public schools will be in a difficult position next year unless the national economy shows improvement.
Just a first round of cuts this year has triggered millions of dollars in cutbacks for state schools, and its effect has reached all the way to student teachers.
Although education depends much on tax revenue from the state, it should not be the area that suffers the most, junior music education major Jeramiah Bowman said.
"Why is education having a huge brunt of the hit," he said. "Not that education can't take the hit but I think we need to share the burden a little bit."
Bowman said he knows he will be affected once he graduates and starts looking for a job.
"Schools at the moment, instead of having younger teachers replacing those about to retire, are just pushing kids into other classes," he said.
Bowman, whose teaching concentration is music, said he is also worried about arts education in K-12 schools.
"Arts are an intellectual vehicle, they are on the same level as other subjects, but when you start making cuts you send music down a level," he said. "If people start to think they don't have to fund the arts, then people think learning about arts is optional."
According to a February Associated Press article, art and physical education are already some of the main targets for cuts in Indiana schools.
Despite disagreeing with Daniels in some areas, Bowman said he understood the intentions of the governor.
"He is dealing with what he's got," he said. "I'm not thrilled with what he is doing but he's doing what he thinks is best for the state."
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