Suffer the poor & schools

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				THE
Column Archive				VIRGINIA GAZETTE
				WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
Suffer the poor & schools				February 24, 2010

It would seem that Gov. Bob McDonnell has never been an aficionado of public schools. As far back as 1989, when he wrote his now infamous thesis for Regent University, McDonnell found that the public schools were unacceptably disentangled from religion.

Specifically, McDonnell harped on the fact that school texts and courses generally were too “humanistic” as a result of the unsavory separation of church and state. He also decried the effect of sex education in the schools as detrimental to the values of the traditional family.

After reading his thesis, one gets the impression that McDonnell would like to excessively revamp or perhaps eliminate our present public education system and replace it with home schooling, private schools or a burgeoning complex of charter schools.

It was not unexpected, therefore, that when McDonnell presented his slash-and-burn budget proposals last week, the major recipient of his cuts was indeed public education. Claiming to have heartburn over Virginia’s sour economic situation, McDonnell sought to assuage all that by excising $731 million from public education programs and returning expenses to 2008 levels.

In one of his more draconian thrusts, McDonnell, who apparently believes that all children should have the benefit of a breakfast around the traditional family table, proposed that school breakfasts for poor students or those unable to get breakfast at home should not be supported by the state.

This is quite consonant with other drastic cuts in the budget that affect primarily the poor and those whose standing in our present political system is minimal. Thus another $345 million has been slashed from human resource programs. The effect of this is to toss over 2,000 people out of Medicaid’s long-term care program and to disallow medical insurance coverage for almost 30,000 poor children and pregnant women.

But certainly the most troublesome onus will have to be borne by local school systems that are already cutting their budgets quite beyond the bone, as if that were possible.

According to Superintendent Gary Mathews, WJC schools would face an additional cut of $1.2 million, which would leave them with an even greater deficit of $9.8 million.

As it is, school systems throughout the state have severely cut what are considered secondary staff, such as library aides, janitors and cafeteria workers. After-school programs have been severely curtailed and minor sports programs have been eliminated.

Even before McDonnell’s recent budget strike, some positions for teachers, librarians and principals were poised for severance. Now even coaches are in the sights of the budget gunners, since their positions will either be eliminated or they will see no additional paychecks for coaching duties.

Given all this, you have to indeed wonder what constitutes McDonnell’s educational philosophy.

While we all realize that the state is in a steep economic decline and that budget cuts are inevitable, is it really appropriate to zero in on one state program to the point of its evisceration?

I suppose the real question is this: How far are we citizens of the Commonwealth willing to allow this destructive process to proceed before we come to the realization that the Republican mantra of no new taxes and hence no additional revenues is eating away at the fiber of what should be a first class educational experience for our children?

Are we willing to witness the skeletonization of our schools to the extent that music courses disappear? Or school orchestras and bands? Or courses in art? Or drama clubs and dramatic presentations? Are we ready to say goodbye to foreign languages, school newspapers and journalism courses? Will we acquiesce in the disappearance of every varsity sport but football and basketball?

How badly do we need guidance counselors, lead teachers or vice principals? And can we do without those who work with students with disabilities? Do we really benefit from offering experienced teachers early retirement in order to avoid paying their well-deserved salaries?

In the end, will we be satisfied with schools that, with drastically reduced and frequently inexperienced teaching staffs, offer courses only in English, math, a science or two and social studies and close their doors when the academic day is over?

Yet this is what the horizon looks like if an endless string of stringent educational budget cuts continues. School systems will be so stretched to the limit, and the purse strings will be such a determinant factor that they will be able to offer only those courses needed to satisfy state and federal testing requirements.

I find it hard to believe that this is what McDonnell has in mind. Yet, if his persistent assault on public education continues, we may well have seen the last of what used to be called a well-rounded education.