Usually when people think of happiness, they think of accumulating items, friends, titles, or wealth. However, it's odd that today I am actually grateful that the profession I love so much has lost $250,000,000.00 in state-based funding. It is odd to think that losing this amount of money would help any teacher feel happy; but, when one considers the alternatives that were available, $250 million does not seem so bad.
The Virginia General Assembly released their biennial budget for the FY 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 years. In hopes of closing a $4 billion shortfall, the Virginia General Assembly has decided to cut $250 million to Virginia K-12 Public Education for the next two school years. These cuts come on top of the cuts that were previously made by the preceding administration. Though the cuts are extremely hurtful and will cause some dedicated educators to lose their jobs, the finalized education cut is down from the more than $700 million that newly-inaugurated Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell endorsed in early 2010.
Even though the cuts have been reduced by $450 million, they are still at the level that will certainly leave local governments and school boards scrambling to find the extra cash or alternative means of funding to make the budget workable to continue to educate Virginia's children and young people. Unfortunately, I am afraid that these cuts could harm the quality level of education that Virginia is used to. Class sizes could rise, schools may not have the money for proper resources, and schools could fall into disrepair if the cuts become permanent. We can take small relief that the full $700+ million was not cut, however, we should continue to stand-up for adequate funding so our students can remain successful.
We as proud Virginia educators should remind our legislators what the famous Founding Father, Governor, American President, and Virginian, Thomas Jefferson once said in that the success of any nation relies on the education of its citizenry.
As an educational leader, how would you relay information about the lack of funding to all of your stakeholders? Would you have them be responsible to educate themselves, or would you take an active stance in providing them with information?
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As an educational leader it is your job to communicate ideas to your stakeholders. You are going to have many people with many concerns. One of the most important groups you need to communicate with is your faculty. I think it is more important to be open and facilitate discussion with your faculty. Many times there are lots of rumors circulating when it comes to budget concerns in a school system. You may not be able to answer the questions, but you can help help direct conversations and make your staff feel part of a community that is open to discussion.
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