Sampang 1 Ray Sampang Dr.

Alesha Gayle English 701 Sec 057 24 Oct 2013 Little Money, Big Problems Every school needs money. Money keeps a school open, pays the staff, allows programs within the school to run, supplies food, provides facilities, provides students with scholarships, allows the ability to hold events or organize field trips, etc. In general, money powers the school. Unfortunately, across the country, there are many school districts with incredibly low funds and those schools are really struggling. Schools are trying to do everything they can to try to improve education across the country but with low funds, they wont be able to do that. School districts in America need to have more funding for their schools. Having more funds for schools will help with keeping the school staff. The current problem is that schools are suffering from having a low staff. In an article in the New York Times written by Rick Lyman and Mary Williams Walsh, it discusses the current funding crisis in a Philadelphia district. Due to the funding crisis, it is stated in the article that In June, the district closed 24 schools and laid off 3,783 employees, including 127 assistant principals, 646 teachers and more than 1,200 aides, leaving no one even to answer phones (Lyman and Walsh par. 4). Because of the mass layoffs, this leaves many people without jobs and this leaves the children within those schools with less people that can help them with their education career. Due to the low staff of teachers, the classroom sizes would increase which would give the kids less personal time they need with their instructor. If they need help with something, they may or may not receive the help they need depending on the availability of the teacher who could be tending to

Sampang 2 another student. Without the help, that student could fall behind which can hurt his or her future years in school. Another reason why school districts need more funding is for the ability to open up their schools on time. Schools in Philadelphia were really close to having this problem of not being able to open their schools. The [funding] problem is so severe that the city agreed at the last minute on Thursday to borrow $50 million just to be able to open schools on time (Lyman and Walsh par. 2). This would have left the school staff without their jobs. While put a lot of pressure on the staff, this puts a lot of pressure on the parents and kids as well. Some kids were really worried that they wouldnt be able to go to school. When interviewed about the possibility of her school not opening up, 10 year old Madison said, All my life I have been waiting for my middle school experience, and now Im told that might not happen (Lyman and Walsh par. 26). Some kids realize how important school is and if they do not have a place to learn, that scares them. Some are coming from low income families and dont have much choice of an alternative school to go to. They and their parents want to be sure that they are going to have a secure future by acquiring the education they need. Also, depending on the state a school is in, there are varying required school days a school should have. If a school is not able to open on time, those required school days may not be reached. Just one missed day of school can make all the difference; thats one full day of a lot of material that may not be taught. If they can be taught though, the lessons may be shortened so teachers could keep up with their lesson plan. This can affect their understanding of the material that could possibly come up in their future years of their education due to the lack of exposure to the topic. Providing school districts with more funds will be able to provide schools with the supplies needed and the ability to improve the schools environment. Fremont High School in

Sampang 3 Los Angeles is dealing with poor conditions and a lack of supplies in their school. Thirty-five to 40 classrooms, nearly a third of all the classrooms in the school, were located in portables. Some classes took place in converted storage closets windowless and nasty, said one of the counselors or in converted shop rooms without black boards (Kozol). A learning environment needs to be welcoming and comfortable for the students. If they cant be comfortable in a classroom, they would be distracted to learn and they may have problems focusing on assignments and tests and quizzes. Some of those classrooms are small so the space can feel very claustrophobic. In Fremont, classrooms could hold between 33 40 students (Kozol). These problems also affect the teachers. In a typical classroom setting, a teacher has his or her own work space and enough room to navigate around the classroom. If a teachers own personal space is minimalized, it can be very discomforting. Having a lack of supplies to work with will negatively affect a teachers lesson plans. Its equivalent to baking a cake but having no eggs and bowls. This would make teaching even harder. Without a blackboard or whiteboard, they wouldnt be able to write on anything to showcase the information they need to give. Without paper, teachers cant make any handouts. Basically, without having anything to teach with, teachers cant teach. Lastly, more funding will allow schools to keep their activity programs and clubs which benefit the student body. Northwest Side Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois is currently having a problem keeping their programs and clubs. In an article written by Lee Jian Chung that covers this problem, she states that, The Northwest Side elementary school is completely losing its band program, and its full-time dance and drama teaching position becomes part-time (Chung par. 2). Cutting sports programs, arts programs, and clubs could be damaging. A school with all of those programs allows its students to explore and find something they like to do. It

Sampang 4 can also be a way for them to relieve stress and make friends with their peers. They could even continue with these programs as they move up to junior high, high school, and college if they also have those programs available. Without these organizations, students wont be able to discover who they are, their interests, and wont make as many connections as they would if they were more involved with the school. There are several ways to help with this increasing funding in schools. One way is to get these funds are from the taxes citizens pay. Woodruff explains this in his article. He explains that fund for schools come from the states sales and income taxes. But locally, those funds come from set property taxes (Woodruff par. 3). This strategy will work well in higher income communities due to a bigger surplus of money they could use and its citizens are more likely to pay off their taxes in full. While this benefits those in that kind of community, it wont work too well with those who live in lower income communities. But, there are proposals that will help those communities. In Philadelphia, it City Council President Darrell Clarke proposed an idea to receive more funding for the school district. In an NDC 10 Philadelphia article, its states the Clarke proposes to Purchase all of the district's real estate liens and surplus properties -- valued at nearly $200 million -- and then sell or convert them for reuse (Lattanzio). Not only would that plan provide the schools with more revenue, but it can also help with improving other parts of the community other than the schools. In an article written by Marc Kovac, he states an idea that Governor John Kasich of the state of Ohio is going to use to improve on funding their schools. The state will provide increased funding for poorer school districts statewide, through a new formula that takes into account property values and income levels. Additionally, there will be more state money provided for programs for the

Sampang 5 disabled, gifted students and those learning the English language. Funding will be offered for preschool for youngsters living in poverty. Certain students will have greater access to vouchers to attend private schools. And all districts will receive at least as much in state formula funding as they have in the current fiscal year (Kovac). He proposes that this idea will be more helpful to those who are less fortunate because it could help the poor receive the resources they need and disabled children will more attention and help. There are a lot of efforts being made in improving education in the United States by increasing funding to provide for schools and communities that are in need. In schools, high quality assets like teachers, staff, technology, equipment, supplies are sought out so its students will be able to get the most of their education. In the documentary film Waiting for Superman directed by Davis Guggenheim, it looks at the failures in the American education system. In the film, Guggenheim gives a statistic that the United States is now ranked 25th in Math and 21st in science compared to other countries and are behind in every other subject (Guggenheim). Officials are hoping to improve students test scores by providing more ways to educate and see the United States rise in the ranks again. Money is the deciding factor on whether a school can survive or not. The damage a lack of money does is catastrophic and unfortunately, many schools in the United States are suffering from the damage. Schools are not being funded enough and many students are struggling. There is no clear vision on what the future will hold but for all students sake, we can hope that there will be a fix and everyone will be able to receive the high quality education everyone deserves.

Sampang 6 Works Cited Chung, Lee J. "WBEZ 91.5 Chicago." Chicago School Cuts Back on Arts, Band. WBEZ, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Kovac, Marc. "School Funding Increasing." The Daily Record, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Kozol, Jonathan. "Fremont High School." The Norton Field Guide to Writing: With Readings and Handbook. By Richard H. Bullock, Maureen D. Goggin, and Francine Weinberg. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2008. 641-48. Print. Lattanzio, Vince. "Philly Schools Chief: Schools May Not Open on Time Without Extra Funding." NBC 10 Philadelphia. NBC, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Lyman, Rick, and Mary W. Walsh. "Philadelphia Borrows So Its Schools Open on Time." Nytimes.com. The New York Times, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. Waiting For Superman. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Walden Media, 2010. DVD.