Top 10 Reasons to Pass the School Budgets

For the past five years, I’ve been privileged to be the general music and chorus teacher at a school in Valley Stream, N.Y. There is really nothing else I want to do (besides play for the Yankees…but who wouldn’t!).

In all seriousness, as an educator, my goal and philosophy is to build a child’s knowledge in the subject of music, and how it relates to life and culture. Every day, I arrive early, I leave late, and I dedicate my life to this. I’ve practiced for years to do this job well.

On May 17, school budget votes will happen. I can’t tell you to go out and vote to pass it, but I certainly can give you reasons why it should pass. Teachers, like myself, do this job not just because we are good at it, but because we know it will make a difference. This is my life, my hobby, my greatest interest and my livelihood. Support your children and your teachers on Tuesday, please. I promise, it’ll be worth it in the end.

…and now my Top 10 reasons to pass budgets!

10) Capital Projects: These are projects used to beautify and update schools so that our facilities are intact and modern. Now, I am not saying we need to replace complete gymnasiums, but fixing a few doors, adding computers and technologies, and updating heating and cooling systems help the overall school stay updated and comfortable for students. If budgets don’t pass, these are the first to go.

9) Extra Curricular Activities: If we think back to our days in school, our after school activities are what we sometimes remember most. I remember playing in the jazz band, which led to my choice of career. I was in the school productions, played baseball for a little while, and even participated in some clubs after school. My wife was president of the Italian honor society, my brother wrestled, and some of my friends played football. We never forget the things that made us feel like a team and part of something bigger than ourselves. I’ve had students come visit me after they graduated and say they will never forget playing an oompa-loompa in our production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

8) Support Staff: I love my secretaries and custodians. They are the real people who run the school. Without them, the school is just a building. They know the ins and outs of schools better than the teachers sometimes. They provide the school with a face, with a presentation, and keep the building cleanly and pleasant. I can’t say enough about the secretaries and custodians who are in my building -they are wonderful. However, if budgets start to get slashed more and more, they will soon be cut, too. We can’t let that happen.

7) Special Needs Programs: The United States was recently named the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world. Odd, right? However, this is a reflection on our ever changing communities and societies. Regardless of your thoughts on immigration, children born here deserve to be educated here. ESL (English as a Second Language), Resource Room, Speech, and Social Workers are all vital to the students in school. Children sometimes need that extra time to work on specific needs. Literacy skills are integral to EVERYTHING a child will learn. Social Workers in schools are there to help not only students, but also families. These positions will begin to vanish if budgets become more and more slim.

6) Multiple Intelligences: Howard Gardener suggested years ago that there are different types of intelligences that people learn from. Students are the same. They need programs and they need different classes to go to. I was never very good at math, but I had plenty of math extra help to go to! However, I aced all my history classes. There is nothing wrong with this; it’s just how people’s brains function. Schools need to have diversity in its choices of classes (especially for middle and high schools). This enables students to embrace their own skills and focus on how they can achieve their greatest potential. This will become harder to do if we start losing more and more money in cuts.

5) Classroom Size: The more money that is cut a district, the larger classroom sizes will be. It’s a fact. Schools are a service industry and teachers provide the service. It’s proven that smaller class sizes benefit students more. If cutting continues, you’ll have 45 students to one teacher. In a world that’s demanding more, you’re going to get less.

4) Tests and Evaluations: This is a two part answer. First, students need contact time with their teachers because of the standardized testing implemented through both President Bush’s and President Obama’s additions to education. Second, these tests are also testing the teachers who will have evaluations based on students' scores. Music and Art teachers' evaluations are based on our live performances, which also are evaluated.

3) Music and Art: This one is the closest to my heart. I am a music teacher. With budget cuts looming, we are already losing more and more arts teachers each year. Music and Art are vital to a child’s education. It’s proven that studies in both music and art will help a student perform better in other subjects. Music and Art are a way to enrich students culturally as well. Music and Art focus on higher order thinking skills and tactile learning. Chorus, band, art classes, and orchestra all present students with performance opportunities that lead to praise and a feeling of accomplishment. The beauty ofcourse, is in the rehearsals to get there, where the students discover what they are truly capable of doing. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Teachers in other subjects might fear having up to 80 children in a room, and needing every one of them focused and paying attention. Music teachers live for this, and it helps students learn to focus. Cuts to music and art are almost first on all lists when it comes to trimming budgets. Please, don’t let that happen!

2) Teachers are People, Too: We don’t sleep under our desks and we don’t lurk in the basements of schools wondering how to sacrifice kids. We have families, friends, and lives. It’s no secret, we get paid for what we do, however, so does everyone else. As a male teacher, I rely on this job to provide for my family. More and more teachers losing jobs are being forced to leave Long Island because they can’t find work here. Teachers are facing the greatest layoffs in history right now. THOUSANDS of people are losing their jobs and it's hurting families. It’s bad enough that districts must cut teachers to keep budgets low…but please, by voting in budgets, you will keep more people from being cut. If budgets don’t pass, more people will lose jobs. I am asking you, please, help my colleagues and I keep our lives here.

1) Children Deserve the Best: Our students are children and they deserve to have a school where they are taught more than just academics, but also culture, respect, perseverance and philosophies. It’s through good examples and programs that we help shape students. All of the above mentioned items are what make schools a place for a child to learn, completely. This is what they deserve. They deserve a good education so they can grow up and lead our country into the future. They deserve to know and understand HOW to learn and HOW they can learn the best for themselves. They deserve a diverse education where they can shine in all subjects. They deserve to have an educational experience and not just “go to school.” Teachers, administrators, secretaries, custodians, nurses, and parents all make up a community in which our children learn. Grim budget cuts will hurt this immensely. School districts have been very fair this year in their tax levies, so please, remember our children deserve the absolute best.

This is not something to be taken lightly. There is a lot at stake these days when it comes to budgets and school districts. In fact, I wrote to Gov. Cuomo via email voicing some concerns to him, and I got an email returned back from HIS office signed by, “Gov. David A. Paterson.”

I wrote him another letter (real mail) expressing concerns and after finally hearing back from him, the answers were less than satisfactory. Nowhere in his response did he mention concerns for students of school communities. I don’t know about you, but that bothers me.

If we all took time to write to our politicians and legislators, we could certainly make an impact on enhancing the lives of our students and school districts. There was a time in history when teachers were revered highly. Please, remember what we do (what I do) is done out of love and desire to give our students a gift. Together, let’s remember that the budgets you will vote on Tuesday benefit our communities and students in more ways than this little blog can do.

I have faith in all of you, so I thank you in advance.