Narrow scope of students fails to recognize the essence of education

As I logged onto Facebook last night, I couldn’t ignore the vast sea of comments about the referendum failing to pass, quickly spreading like wildfire between students.

It saddened me to see such harsh, hyperbolic, depressing statements filling up the virtual lives of much of my friends list. As I scrolled between comment and comment, status and status, I realized just how narrow the scope of many high school students is these days.

Cuts will have to be made, and teachers will lose their jobs. Those are facts of the failed referendum.

However, there are many kids all over the world who receive not even a fraction of the education we receive here in America, and the failed 2011 education referendum is not going to sink our school into those depths. Just because the referendum failed to pass this time around certainly does not mean RB isn’t going to strive to give its’ students the highest education possible.

Will you be able to be in that one club or class you wanted? Maybe not. But you will graduate with a diploma from a strong high school and have a full life and future ahead of you. That isn’t something to be taken for granted.

Everyone needs to understand that the vote wasn’t even marginally close, with somewhere around one yes vote to every three no votes, and I find it sad that many of my fellow students instantly turn to attacking those who voted no. I understand that, as students, they have a much more personal connection with the high school, but ultimately, they make up only a fraction of the voters, and they need to respect the decision of the community. I believe respect is one of the abiding pillars of character of Riverside Brookfield High School.

A school is supported by the community it resides in, and our communities obviously had a point to make yesterday at the polls. It wasn’t just a few people who didn’t support the referendum, but rather the vast majority. Regardless of the reason, whether it is finances, personal opinion, or a desire for an alternate solution, I don’t think it’s fair to say that the surrounding communities have forgone supporting education for personal gain or selfishness, something I’ve seen mentioned multiple times. I think it is an errant generalization to say that just because someone voted no means that they would rather spend their money on food, clothes, coffee, cigarettes, etc. than education.

With a new administration, the school now has an excellent opportunity to reconsider the situation, find out where the community had major disagreements, and create a more realistic proposal that is both fair and straightforward for next year. Trying to pass the same proposal with more drastic cuts next year could lead to an even sadder 2012.

Our communities are fortunate to have a wealth of intelligent minds, and it would be nice to see both the school, community, and students leave the politics of this year behind, and utilize the results of the past, to work towards the future with a smarter, more collaborative proposal.

My favorite quote by Mark Twain says, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

Education is much more than the clubs and activities at a school, much more than the AP classes offered, much more than any textbook or technology, and for sure much more than something to be lost at the result of a failed referendum. While next year students may not be able to participate in eco club or play water polo, they will experience education, and that is what really matters.

What is a referendum? Why will it matter to us?

At the school board meeting on Wednesday, September 14th, the board approved an April target date for an education fund tax referendum vote.  According to Superintendent David Bonnette, the need for a referendum comes from the state of Illinois not adequately funding public schools. 

Bonnette said, “The state promised huge funds and hasn’t paid all the money they promised. The expenses have gone up faster than money is coming in from revenue.”  

RB receives its income from several sources, most notably local property taxes and funding from the state of Illinois.

The board voted 7-0 to approve the referendum, which would allow residents to vote to raise their property taxes to add revenue to the school.

“This is not something we haven’t anticipated.” School board president Jim Marciniak said. “This is something that’s been facing us for years.” 

According to Marciniak, the last time the school district received a tax rate increase at the polls specifically for operating the school was in 2000. The tax rate increase in 2006 was for the building renovation project. That money could only be used on the renovation.

Also, according to Marciniak, most of the money spent in the school budget is on personnel expenses.  80% of the budget is spent on salaries and benefits.

“We have been cutting down on things such as copy paper, printing, etc.. Areas where we can economize, we have been. Our text book budget is negligible at this point,” he said.

At the same meeting, RBEA President Tom Fuller, an English teacher at RB, presented a proposal from the teachers to the board.  According to the proposal, if the referendum is approved, teachers agreed to freeze their base salaries for the next two years. While some raises for experience and education will still exist, teachers will not receive a guaranteed yearly raise.

Some community members have commented negatively about the prospect of a referendum on the Riverside Landmark’s articles about the referendum and the RBEA proposal. Several of the commenting community members would like the teachers to take cuts to their salaries and benefits.

Sarah  Johnson, a teacher at RB and a community member whose taxes will be affected by the referendum, said, “I think we need teachers to do their part and I think the school needs the referendum. We don’t want to change our programming either and we would like the community to vote on that.”

Fuller agreed with Johnson and said, “It’s a partnership between the community, the teachers, the parents and the students. It’s in everyone’s best interest to work together to find solutions to the financial issues.”  

If the referendum does not pass, RB will have to make very difficult decisions regarding future finances.  Social studies teacher Mark Gouwens said, “At some point they will have to cut things. Sports and band and those sorts of things are not as important as what we do in the class room. They are important to a high school, but at the end of the day it’s an academic institution.  So if the referendum doesn’t pass there are going to have to be cuts.” 

The referendum could also have affect on other aspects of the school. Fuller said, “Class sizes will increase, classes to choose from will be limited, it will probably have a significant impact on student learning.”

 The referendum could potentially impact the reputation of RB in a negative way. Fuller said, “Students don’t want their options to be limited when it comes time for college, access to teachers, class offerings you can take. This is a quality high school, we have a comprehensive education, our students do quite well when they go off to college, and we want to be able to continue to have those types of programs available.” 

As of now, RB offers 24 Advanced Placement courses, and there are 19 honors classes available to students. 

If the referendum is not approved Marciniak said, “There will be a reduction in class courses. There will not be enough teacher resources to be able to put those courses on.”

The board plans to meet on Tuesday, October 19^th, to review three scenarios to balance the school budget if the referendum fails.

Tardy policy too strict?

The current tardy policy in place at Riverside Brookfield High School states that being late “disrupts the flow of the education process,” but what does lateness really disrupt? During first period only the morning announcements are being played and they can be and usually are interrupted by talking students.

I think that the tardy policy at school should be slightly revised for first period because students have the most to do in the morning. My big issue is with the morning announcements. Why should students have to rush to class if we are not missing any learning? I am not saying that we should have a long time to get there, but I personally think the bell shouldn’t ring until after the announcements have been made. If a student misses the announcements they can ask to see the bulletin after class, holding up no one but themselves.

I also don’t understand how being late, missing announcements and at worst the pledge, is a detention-worthy offense. If kids are lollygagging in the halls and wasting the teacher’s time then yes they should be reprimanded, but when they are rushing to get ready and walking hastily through the halls they should not be in trouble. I realize that this is not a teacher by teacher thing, but it is their choice to enforce it as harshly or as easily as they see fit.

Some teachers feel that the tardy policy should be a little more lenient, but the people affected the most by the current tardy policy are the kids, like Sophomore Cameron Webber.

Webber said, “ I am late a lot but I try my best to rush to school, when I try I still end up late and grounded by my parents and usually with a detention.”

The problem is that kids don’t want to be late, but it happens. Bike tires pop, cars stall, and feet hurt so when a kid tries his best to get to class and is only a few minutes late, he deserves to give his side of the story and should not be punished.

Teachers have to enforce the policy to those who interrupt class, but a kid who walks in during the announcements should not be punished because he is not interrupting anything. Teachers do not need to be so adamant about the policy until it becomes a recurring problem, but in my opinion students walking in during the announcements are not causing a problem.