Friday, April 27, 2012

Argument Rough Draft


I am sitting with my son at the park and he looks up at me and says, “Mom thanks for letting me take the bus this year I really like riding with my friends.” I think to myself, “Enjoy it now kid because by next year I won’t be able to afford for you to take it, thanks to the new budget cuts.” Budget cuts have been affecting so many of our schools nation-wide and it has finally reached the town where I live, Westport. As many of us hear “budget cuts” we assume the worst, I know I do, but is it as bad as everyone makes it out to be?
Last summer during window replacement PCB was found, a suspected carcinogen, in the middle school that cost the town $3.2 million. (Hershberg, Shoreline) The PCB cleanup consisted of removing contaminated materials (including caulk, ceiling tiles, and rugs), cleaning, ventilation, and moving furniture and other objects around the school. Forty percent of the schools budget was used for the cleanup. The town recently had a vote to increase the town taxes 2.5 percent each year, but it didn’t pass. Unfortunately, our children are being punished for something out of our control.
As a mother of a child who attends the Westport Elementary School I have my concerns for the recent announcement of budget cuts. As a mother I want the best for my child and education is at the top of that list. I don’t want to see my son in a school with oversized classrooms, loosing the opportunity to play a sport, or not be able to participate in an after school program. As an unemployed single mother I am concerned about the revenue adjustments including bus transportation charges and the increased prices of lunches.
I, like many others, do not support budget cuts in the education system. One budget cut happening in many states across the country is shorter schools days. It is obvious that the longer time spent in school the more the student tends to learn. American students are already being cut short compared to students in Germany and South Korea. “German children spend 20 more days in school ... and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equivalent to an entire year.” (The News Tribune). Luckily, shorter school days have not reached Westport yet and hopefully it never will. 
With budget cuts come teacher lay-offs. Three teachers from the Westport Elementary School may be eliminated, unfortunately resulting in oversized classrooms. It has been proven smaller classrooms do better than children in larger classroom sizes. An experiment was conducted called project STAR, which compared two classroom sizes, small and large, over a four-year span. The results showed that the children in the smaller classroom had an 11.5 percent increase in high school graduation rates. It also showed those students had strong math and reading skills. (SheKnows Editors, She Knows).
Another negative impact from budget cuts is the difference between the lower income students and higher income students. Students from the higher incomes are more likely to achieve than the low-income students. This imbalance increases when education budget cuts increase, making the parents pay for more of the educational costs, such as, music lessons, weekend sports, books, supplies, and tutoring services. (Taverise, New York Times). Unfortunately, the students coming from lower income families are being deprived achievement.
Although I don’t agree with budget cuts on education there are some positives that come from it. One positive side to budget cuts are not raising the taxes. By raising the property taxes families may loose their homes due to foreclosure or evictions. As the taxes increase homeowners no longer can afford to pay the mortgage or keep up with their rental property. In some cases this may lead to homelessness.
Another good thing about budget cuts is schools are forced to find more efficient ways of spending money. For starters schools could decrease the amount of paper being used. Instead of using paper newsletters teachers could email parents instead. Teachers could also use computer programs instead of textbooks. Imagine the amount of paper you could save just in textbooks alone. “The paper used in providing a three hundred-page textbook to one teachers' one-hundred-and-twenty-five students amounts to 37,500 sheets of paper.”(Tuttle, Hotchalk) Not only is the use of computers saving on paper, but it also benefits the children by learning more on a technical level.
Another way budget cuts can be positive is it forces staff and students to become more energy efficient to cut cost. Schools in New York City have installed motion-censored lights and unplug their refrigerators and freezers during the summer months. Since the changes in 2008 energy consumption is down eleven percent. (Hu, New York Times). One school spent seventy-five dollars on stickers and placed them on light fixtures, computers, and printers as a reminder to turn them off when not in use. Not only do these steps save money, but it is also a good lesson for our children to get in the habit of doing.
Budget cuts are affecting out children’s education in so many ways. By creating shorter school days, creating oversized classrooms, and adding more financial burden on lower income families we are hurting our children. They are not receiving the quality education they deserve. Although, these cuts are not what we want for our children there are still some good that comes from it. By not raising taxes this is helping the low income families from possibly loosing their homes. Promoting energy conservation and decreasing the amount of paper being used not only helps the environment, but is also a good lesson to teach our children. Nothing has been set in stone when it comes to the budget cuts in Westport. I can only hope it is not as bad as they predict and bus transportation is affordable so my son can continue to take it. 

Works Cited Page


Works Cited
Hirshberg, Melanie. "$3M PCB Cost May Be Faced Nov. 8." Westport Shorelines. 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.shorelinesma.com/news/2011/oct/18/3m-pcb-cost-may-be-faced-nov-8/>.
Hu, Winnie. "With Post-Its and Checklists, Schools Cut Their Energy Bills." New York Times. 11 Aug. 2011. Web.
The News Tribune. "Tighter School Days Might Offset Shorter School Year." Tacoma News Tribune. 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/11/17/1909572/tighter-school-days-might-offset.html>.
SheKnows Editors. "The Benefit of Small Classrooms." SheKnows. 28 Sept. 2007. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/6725/the-benefit-of-small-classrooms>.
Tavernise, Sabrina. "Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say." New York Times. 9 Feb. 2012. Web.
Tuttle, Harry. "Http://www.hotchalk.com/mydesk/index.php/editorial/121-classroom-best-practices/643-going-green-in-the-classroom-reducing-paper." Hotchalk. 23 Mar. 2009. Web.