Sock it to the kids

Photo by Generation Bass 19

Bullying isn’t just a problem amongst students at your local middle school. Too often, when states and districts find themselves in a financially strapped space (a reality from Atlantic to Pacific), they pass along the suffering to students and families. In California, for example, recent legislation has unilaterally barred teacher layoffs for the 2011-12 school year. In order to mitigate the burden that this will place on already cash-strapped districts, the law will allow them to shorten the school year by seven days—over a week of instructional time. Districts in Illinois (and other states) have taken another route—though one equally detrimental to kids: Pushing costs onto students by charging fees for textbooks, extracurriculars, even required classes like English and physical education. (Some families are writing checks to the tune of $600-plus per child.) This meme may seem repetitive to the avid Gadfly reader, but it bears repeating: There are alternative ways to stretch that school dollar—ones that don’t harm the individuals for which the system exists in the first place.