I have a story coming out in the paper tomorrow on the 71 position cuts made in the school district. Here are some additional interviews and excerpts I would like to share:
Tom Rose:
When speaking with Tom Rose, vice president of the School Board, he mentioned the importance of the cuts.
“We were trying to balance the budget,” Rose said. “We needed to make a certain amount of reductions.”
He also mentioned the Fellows program, a system designed to provide newly-graduated MU teachers with a position out of college for experience. Normally, they hire these teachers back for a second year or on contract, but they only hired nine for the 2009-2010 year.
Rose also explained, when I asked about schools like Ridgeway Elementary, that the largest effect will be felt on the smaller schools, but they must try to see the broader picture.
“You have to look beyond that and what is best for the district.” he said.
Denise Parker:
When speaking with Denise Parker, a literacy coach for 18 years, she talked about the importance the coaches played in interaction with teachers, calling her role a “co-teacher.” She said she could swoop into a situation and fend for the “younger kids and what they aren’t getting” in the classroom.
Linda Quinley:
Linda Quinley, business director for Columbia Public Schools, said that even though the cuts last year came with a lot of surprise and rebuttle, a lot of those whose positions were cut were soon to retire anyway. Whether the next tax levy passes will determine if another $3.5 million to $4 million needs to be cut in order to begin operating a salaries raise schedule.
Sally Beth Lyon:
Sally Beth Lyon, chief academic adviser, mentioned the optimistic side of the position cuts: the experienced teachers moving back into the classrooms after the district’s math and literacy positions were cut.
“On the bright side, we’ll have great teachers,” she said.
Lyon also explained that without the coach positions, their responsibilities will be spread among the teachers, teacher heads and administrators. These individuals have begun training for this in elements, such as learning how to provide proper assessments.
Kim Weber:
Kim Weber, the president of the CPPTA, had this response for the board about the position cuts:
“Just keep an open mind and ask for input from the teachers and staff that are directly connected each day to our student learning,” she said.
Sarah Read:
“Difficult decisions need to be made when funds are tight, and we need to think carefully as a community about how we are going to fund our schools. Good schools are part of the lifeblood of a community, contributing to economic development, maintaining property values and providing our youth with the kinds of opportunities that they need to succeed. We have a great asset in our schools, and we need to work to protect and preserve it,” Sarah Read, president of Columbia Parents for Public Schools, wrote in an e-mail.
Laura Sandstedt, Columbia Public Schools Employee Organization president, wrote via e-mail:
“Anytime positions are cut, it adversely impacts our students. In addition, it creates additional tensions for all CPS employees. I am optimistic that CPS is on the road to recovery. Although we have had drastic budget cuts during the 2008-09 school year and now the 2009-10 school year, we know CPS must operate a balanced budget in order to best meet the needs of today’s students as well as students in the future. I think the BOE and administration did a much better job this year of letting staff know about potential budget cuts (especially the 71 positions) so that we could plan.
“The process was transparent and obviously went a lot smoother than last year. That does not mean that teachers and staff haven’t felt disheartened by the cuts. Seeing people leaving our buildings is hard especially when we have seen first-hand the positive impact they make on the lives of our students. I anticipate next year being far more stressful on teachers and staff as we ‘cover’ the responsibilities of those 71 positions. It is the nature of people who pursue a career in education to always want to do what’s best for kids!
“I anticipate that the strains of the budget cuts of 08-09 and now 09-10 are going to make it physically impossible for us to do everything we’ve done in the past because of the collective support of the now 150 positions we are left without. For myself, this creates an emotional strain because what my heart knows is right to do is not physically possible — I can’t be in two places at once. The CPS staff is a talented and dedicated group of professionals and we will band together to do our level best to make sure that all students receive the highest quality education possible — for many of our staff, this will mean increased duties with less pay.
“We understand that the economic conditions in our country and in our community are forcing many businesses to do more with less. It is my hope that in the near future, we can begin to plan for a fiscally-responsible future that will support our students with the resources they need to be competitive and productive members of our community now and in the future. With our communities continued support, we can and we will continue to deliver world class education to the youngest citizens of Columbia, MO!”
Larry Jones, principal at Two Mile Prairie Elementary School, via e-mail:
“We will miss Heather tremendously. She was an integral part of helping our teachers and staff become even more confident and knowledgeable about teaching ALL children and helping teachers grow professionally.
“She had a significant impact upon our school in supporting teachers who were interested in and willing to learn about effectively teaching ALL students, mentoring new teachers, providing workshops and in-service training for teachers, leading book discussions, attending conferences with other TMP teachers and then leading rich and high quality discussions and follow-up support which allowed teachers to implement the new learning, and she did a lot of model-teaching for others.
“She was an invaluable resource for our building. Her leadership, knowledge, coaching skills, and professionalism are a major loss to our school and our instructional program. The Literacy Coach and Math Coach positions were an integral and important part of our school improvement plans.”
