I drove home tonight from our first win against our oldest rival, and I had the silly feeling of being safe on my home turf that was rightly defended. Last year this game was played in the mud, and the players ended the after game with fists after the opponents' coach ordered his team to "take care of those *%$#@ kids!" because our kids were on their field sliding in the mud (which WAS pretty stupid on our kids' behalf.) Anyway, we won tonight and no one got violent this time. I guess some parents thought the last-second touchdown was unsportsman like on our behalf, but they probably didn't see their kid punch ours in the stomach repeatedly during the game, and they sure didn't hear their junior high coach yell profanities at the kids after half time (and then tell my DH, the head coach, that he'd take him on right there in the parking lot....I mean, come on!)
But all that was only to lead into my real thoughts tonight. Because as I felt that silly safe feeling, I also felt great sadness, because this school may not be around for very long. And unfortunately, it's the best school in the district.
The problem began several years ago. Some time, for some reason (I wasn't hear; I don't know) our three elementary schools and high school joined the Warren County School District and we became one of five schools in the same district. There are several problems with this. Basically, Warren County isn't exactly ahead of the times. In fact, it's just a lot of old money that doesn't want any change. People get jobs that pay the same 20 years later as they did upon hiring. There are fewer office jobs in this town than spiders in my home. Manual labor is, after all, a very good way of keeping the people where you want them - poor and happy with even the smallest of changes.
So this big district has one "big" town that does everything backwards. And I do mean it. They tore down a bridge, a rather important one that led from the center of town to the hospital, and didn't rebuild for 2 years because they mis-budgeted. It's not surprising then, that this town has problems budgeting for their schools.
But wait...they acquired Eisenhower school district years ago. And wouldn't you know, it's now the fastest growing population, and most of the new residents have plenty of money in their pockets and want to live in the country. Well, hey, let's use the money for our "city" school, for lights on our field, for a new field altogether built over the oil refinery waste...how convenient. Then let's shut down 10 schools in two years.
Yes, 10 schools in two years. Most elementary, all important to the kids and parents who attended there.
The newest was Lander Elementary...the school my kids would have gone to had I not chosen to homeschool, and had they not sold it for $20,000 to a local family who lives there now. My husband graduated from there. It's one of his few good school memories. But they took it away and split the kids between the two remaining schools, only one of which they improved and enlarged (nothing like distinguishing between the rich and the not so...)
One of the high schools was closed, and the parents opened a charter school this year, doing very well. And one other school sits in the center of a large target, wondering when they, too will be wiped clean off the public education map.
Eisenhower. The farming town school. The one with, if you care, which I don't, but the disctrict claims to, has the highest test scores of the county. The one with a real community spirit and concern. The one that kids chose to drive to rather than being bussed to their closest school. And unfortunately the one that hasn't been looked at in years from a financial maintenance perspective.
Last year Boom kind of planted a seed in his students telling them how easy it would be for the district to get rid of us. The kids panicked and told their parents that Eisenhower was doomed. The parents had heard similar rumors from higher up than my Boom, and a meeting was called. They acknowledged that it had been a consideration, but that they weren't planning on doing so anymore. (Yeah, like they would have said anything different with hundreds of angry parents there.)
So for the first time in 3 years a maintenance guy comes and fixes fountains, says scaffolding that had been there for 2 years is illegal, etc. Proof that maybe they are taking these parents seriously and will keep Eisenhower open to please the masses (the masses that pay the taxes that go to their shiny and completely upkept school and field.)
And then they tried to raise money this year with pay to park or pay to play. Pay to play was shut down, but pay to park was passed, at $200 per person for the year. Twice the amount a college student pays for a year. This, too, though, was eventually revoked as parents and kids protested.
And then Hurricane Katrina hit. And now they are claiming that because they didn't raise their expected $80,000 from the pay to park, combined with raised energy costs, they now have a $800,000 budget dilemma, and I quote "are open to ideas from the public." There are holding meetings next week so that when they DO decide what to do, they will be able to say, "At least we gave you a chance to offer input." Which they won't listen to, anyway.
No, as the newspaper said, in the opinion of the newspaper, there are too many teachers for too few students in too many schools. They will start by removing "unneeded" things like extracurricular activities. Then they will shut down more schools and get rid of more teachers.
Which will leave us with more students per teacher in less schools...which to anyone with half a brain equals less quality learning and less capable teachers in too cramped buildings. Let alone the idea that they actually want people to move into the Warren area...I wonder where they think they'd put all THOSE students?
And I noticed the paper once again omitted an important fact: The administrators in our county earn a comfy six digit salary, much higher than Erie schools. Our teachers in this same county are at the lowest of the schools in the area, which means that the gap between administrators and teachers is the biggest of all the NorthWestern PA schools....and yet this never hits OUR paper (it's been in the Erie paper at least twice.)
So if our administrators really cared about our children's education...don't you think they could give up some of that ridiculously high salary to help them out? I'm sure between them all (and they haven't lost any jobs despite the decreasing school numbers and the teacher firings) they could come up with $800,000.
But that's not what it's about, really, is it. It's not about the kids. It should be, but it won't be. It will be in their name, and their the ones affected most, but it's about the money. It always has been.
And I wonder if tonight I saw one of the last games played on a lonely field of camaraderie, community, and friendly competition. I wonder if I heard one of the last bands to play from a school that has meant so much to so many people, and I can't count the number of times I heard of people purposely coming to this school over the one next to their home. I wonder if I drove home for one of the last times feeling like I belonged to a community that am proud of, despite my not wanting to move here originally.
I hope not. But many people are already assuming as much. And in the end, it's the kids who will suffer, all in the name of big "E" Education.
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