To Cut or Not to Cut

 

 

The Great Debate: College Prep in a Post-COVID World

Characters:

• Ms. Garcia: School board member, prioritizes fiscal responsibility.
• Mr. Thompson: School board member, prioritizes academic excellence.

Setting: A school board meeting room.

Moderator: Our topic tonight: maintaining COVID-level funding for college prep programs in light of reduced COVID funding.  Ms. Garcia, you take the floor first.

Ms. Garcia: Thank you. We all know the pandemic put a strain on our finances. We received a temporary boost with COVID funding, but let's face it, that's gone. Now, we have a projected deficit of $$$,000. The state provides us 45% more money for each student than it gives to Kanawha County schools. We are paid for educating 1400 students, but only have 945.  Can we really afford to maintain these expensive college prep classes when we're facing cuts elsewhere?

Think about it. We can use those funds to keep essential programs running.  Frankly, with fewer college-bound students this year, we have to prioritize where our limited resources go.

Mr. Thompson: Hold on, Ms. Garcia. While I understand the budget concerns, eliminating college prep is shortsighted. These are the very programs that prepare students for success in higher education and competitive careers. Cutting them weakens our entire academic offerings like Calculus and Computer Science (Coding)

Ms. Garcia: But Mr. Thompson, the numbers don't lie. We can't maintain programs that serve a shrinking student population at the expense of the majority.

Mr. Thompson: Shrinking? There may be fewer students applying to college this year, but that doesn't mean the need for these classes has disappeared. We need to encourage, not discourage, students to aim high. Let's not forget, strong college prep benefits all students, not just those going to university.

Ms. Garcia: I hear you, but there are alternatives. We can consolidate classes, use online resources, have a yard sale or even have a pie auction! Maybe we could consolidate the math and and language courses with a focus on "word" problems.

 Mr. Thompson: Consolidation leads to larger class sizes, which means less individual attention. Online resources can't replace experienced teachers who guide and mentor students through the college application process. It is a shame to let our business teacher go.

Look, we have options. We just sold the Slaven property for $259,000. We can explore applying for additional (PILT) money from the county commission. The County Commission could make a one-time contribution by repurposing some unspent OPIOID funds allocated for jail costs which could help bridge the gap for this year. They once financed $5,000 composting outhouses and bought fish to stock the streams.  Surely, they could sponsor one Calculus class!

Ms. Garcia: Those are interesting ideas. We should definitely investigate them. However, let's not get our hopes up. These are one-time solutions, not sustainable alternatives. Ultimately, we might have to make some tough choices.

Mr. Thompson: True, but every dollar we can find helps us maintain these critical courses. Let's explore all avenues, tighten our belts elsewhere, but don't let a temporary budget issue become a permanent blow to our students' futures.

Moderator: Thank you both for a thought-provoking discussion. This is clearly a complex issue with no easy answers. The board will take your arguments under advisement and vote on the budget proposal at the next meeting.