By Cassie Wassink
UPCOMING EVENT:
Next Tuesday, April 26, the ICCSD school board will meet to discuss these issues.
UPDATE:
After the publication of the following story, Iowa City School District Officials discussed the possibility of cutting back on savings to allow for fewer teacher cuts. This will be discussed at the ICCSD school board meeting on Tuesday.
PRINT STORY:
City High is constantly undergoing changes, some of which are harder to accept than others. One recent development hit City High particularly hard.
Last Thursday, the decision was made to cut twenty-two full time equivalency positions in the Iowa City Community School District. One Full Time Equivalency position is any combination of staff positions whose salaries add up to one full time teacher. These cuts are being drawn from the general fund, which does not include special education funding.
Of these 22 positions, ten will be drawn from elementary schools. Of the remaining 12, four will be taken from City High, four from West High, and four total from the three junior high schools in the ICCSD.
These cuts have been met with widespread dissatisfaction from the public, and last week there were protests around the district’s Central Administrative Office downtown. A crowd of over 50 people gathered–teachers, parents and students alike.
Among those protesting was Deborah Thornton, a public policy research analyst at the Public Research Institute of Mount Pleasant, and City High parent.
“We need to cut administrators, not teachers,” Thornton said. “And we need to properly deal with new districting.”
Tom Yates, president of the Iowa City Education Association and City High teacher, also spoke at the protest.
“I’m hopeful that the board and CAO pay attention to the amount of interest and put staffing where it needs to be,” Yates said. “It doesn’t need to be a huge crowd. Just a crowd that says, ‘look, this is where public funding ought to be.’”
Yates feels strongly that protesting is not only right, but necessary. “Being active is better than being passive and just letting things happen without saying anything about it.” Yates said.
Danelle Knoche, City High teacher, feels that the new cuts are deleterious not only to teachers, but to all involved.
“It’s important that they [lawmakers] understand that there’s other things going on. They’re not just hurting the teachers. They’re affecting the children, too, which will affect your education, which will affect your whole life and your whole well-being.”
Jeanine Redlinger, City High teacher, feels that increased class sizes resulting from teacher cuts affect her ability to teach. “Besides finding the time, I can’t physically walk to my students.” Redlinger said. “That just puts me on edge.”
These cuts will be announced by April 30 and will take effect in the 2011-2012 school year.
John Bacon, principal of City High, though prepared for the upcoming changes, has not stopped fighting. “I remain optimistic that the cut will not need to be that severe,” Bacon said. “And I will continue to advocate for the needs of our building to make sure that we are effectively staffed.”
