As the national economy begins to show signs of a recovery, the impact of the recession is still being felt at the local level. Across the country, Governors have cut school district allotments as part of balancing State budgets.
School Districts across the country have planned to close schools and layoff staff in order to offset the lost allocations to their budgets. We have witnessed the contentious battle in Wisconsin between the Governor and State employees over eliminating the collective bargaining rights of teachers, while proposing a 9 percent cut in educational allotment[i]. In Detroit, up to 50 of the 172 publics were closed to alleviate a $219 million dollar deficit[ii]. In Kansas City, 26 of the 61 public schools were closed at it was forced to sell its District Headquarters, and layoff 285 teachers[iii].
The justification made by Governors for cuts in allocations to school districts is that districts are spending too much money for students who are underperforming. The Governors also argue that allocations to school districts are placing a strain on the State budget. At the same time, Governors are providing corporate tax breaks without a guarantee from the corporate community to increase hiring or create jobs.
There was an opportunity missed by Governors to lessen the impact of the cuts, assists in the reform of their school districts and maintain jobs. Governors could have used corporate tax breaks as an incentive for the corporate community to partner with school districts. Corporate partnerships would give districts the opportunity to align the curriculum with the needs of a global economy and demonstrate to students the relevancy of education to their future adult lives. A partnership could also lead to internship opportunities for students that would further enrich their educational experience. Lastly, a partnership could give students access to mentors and begin to change the negative perceptions about students who attend public schools.
By giving away corporate tax breaks without securing partnerships for school districts, Governors have given away the only leverage they had to get the corporate community to partner with their districts. Districts without the normal State allocations will be forced to educate students with fewer resources, possibly have larger classroom sizes, less staff, and will still be required to achieve the same state and federal testing standards.
Cutting allotments to school districts may seem like a fiscally responsible thing to do in the midst of an economic recovery, however lost in the rationale for the cuts are the youth who will be severely impacted by these cuts. The strategy to force change by portraying teacher unions as the problem places youth in the middle of an adult “tug of war.”
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