What happens at the Board of Education (BOE) does not stay at the Board of Education. The decisions made at the Howard County BOE meetings directly impact you and me, especially when they have to do with the budget for our schools.
My mom is a Howard County teacher, and I am involved with student government in Howard County as the head of Public Relations for HCASC. Hearing about these budget cuts hits too close to home.
The proposed budget cuts for the 2024-25 school year would do more harm than good. Students’ educations would be at fault. The BOE proposed that each high school would lose a range of 7-15 teachers. Class sizes would be increased by one student each.
However, most of the BOE members have never experienced what it’s like to be a teacher or a student in a modern classroom. How can we trust non-educators to make decisions that heavily impact the success of our students? The short answer is, we cannot.
To the Board members, an increased class size of one does not sound like a lot. But, what they do not understand is that smaller class sizes give students and teachers the opportunity for one on one attention that many students need to learn effectively.
I learn best in smaller classes. I feel like I cannot focus or even be the best version of myself in a larger class size. It seems like the Board members do not care about quality learning.
On top of the consequences of having larger classes, the loss of multiple teachers at once can have a large impact. The BOE sees an employee, but at Wilde Lake, a teacher is a friend, lifelong mentor, and a structural support system.
Countless students at the Lake make connections with teachers who help keep them on track and make sure they are okay. By removing teachers from the building, the BOE is taking away a mentor from a student. Because of this, a student might end up struggling next year, academically and emotionally.
Teaching high schoolers is not an easy job. But, I also see the passion that my teachers have for feeding young minds. Taking away a teacher’s job is taking away this passion from schools.
As teachers are removed from buildings, elective classes are removed from schedules.
Elective classes are a space where students can take their interests and grow them into something bigger for their future.
Classes such as guitar and journalism have given me insight into what I want to do in my future. I am so lucky to have taken these classes.
Before the BOE finalizes the budget cuts, they need to investigate the impact they will have on schools. If you are going to make decisions on behalf of a whole county, you need to know what happens inside of schools.
Know and understand your impact, BOE members.
