I found an article in today's Herald that may interest those planning a career in education. Governor Mark Sanford has accepted $2.8 billion in federal aid but warned teachers and school districts not to plan on $700 million for classrooms, colleges and public safety. Sanford wrote the White House budget office and told them that he will not apply for the $700 million portion of funds. "They're not going to get that money," Sanford said friday of school districts.
According to the article, school districts are running out of time to figure out how many teachers they can afford. Sanford has a bill that is awaiting his signature that would require districts to sign teacher contracts by May 15. Officials in Greenville County, the state's largest school district and the county's largest employer, may have to write a budget without the money if it has not arrived by mid-May. As many as 450-500 school positions could be eliminated in Greenville County.
According to the Herald, $280 million would have been split between public schools and state colleges to help balance their budgets after state revenues dipped sharply due to the recession. South Carolina colleges have been cut by 17% this year, which is the largest cut to higher education in the nation. State schools have been cut $112 million. The $700 million, if accepted, would save 1,400 jobs.
I thought this article would be of interest to those of us who will be job hunting in roughly one year from now. Sorry for the depressing news.
Nora Stewart-Ricks
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6 comments:
I read this same article and realized that even though Sanford has accepted the stimulus money, he is not going to apply for the money that would help education. If jobs are cut then it is going to be even harder for us as we graduate in 2010 and begin applying for teaching positions. We are going to have to do an exceptional job as student interns and in the interviewing process to "sell ourselves" to prospective school districts and schools. We can no longer take anything for granted.
"Comment to Sanford Article"
I think this is totally unacceptable. South Carolina is number 49 out of 50 states in education, I think that number is correct. How can we get out of this situation when we are not being given the money to employ more teachers. Not only are we not being given extra money, the schools in some areas are being asked to cut teachers. Colleges and private schools can raise tuition to supplement for these economic hardships but public school cannot. Instead of cutting public education why don't politicians cut money from programs that do not work. This news really disturbs me because as the first to blogs said, this will affect me in about a year when I start to look for my own teaching job. I may not be able to find a job or may have to look to another state other than SC. I really want to work in SC because I want our education to be better and I want to be a part of that betterment.
I agree with Sarah. I really believe that if nothing changes, it may be difficult for us to find a job when we complete this program. Let's all hope something will change so the state of South Carolina's budget will be in better shape when we do graduate.
Keeping an eye on Governor Sanford over the past few weeks has made me very concerned about our job market when we graduate in a little over a year. Like I said in an earlier post (I believe to Sarah), it's hard to understand why - if South Carolina is struggling in education - the governor will not accept the stimulus funds.
This situation will surely affect us as teachers seeking employment. Even greater is my concern for the students who will not have access to books and school supplies because of lack of funding, or will not receive adequate attention in class due to the fact that the teacher has 35 students in their classroom. It is outrageous that the public education system is held so accountable for the quality of our citizens and our country as a whole, yet it is being neglected in this crucial economic time. I guess Sanford's kids go to private school so he is unconcerned?? I am not sure I understand Sanford's reasoning for doing this, but I hope that everyone in this class sent him an email.
With South Carolina being low in education quality, I am mostly concerned for the students who will suffer because of Sanford's decision. I know teachers who are getting laid off, and the only result can be increased classroom size. My roommate who teaches kindergarten is going through this dilemma in CMS, where classes will increase by at least 1 next year. She does not have an assistant in the classroom, either. Naturally instructional time that could be spent one-on-one with students will decrease to accommodate for the number of students. I feel that other areas of budgets could definitely be cut in order to promote quality education for students. As our governor, Sanford should be concerned for student education across the state, yet his actions do not suggest that he is concerned.
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