Archive: Around Town

About 200 Lansing residents, teachers, and students turned up for Monday's Board Of Education meeting.  20 of them addressed the board, mainly to plead for board members not to cut teachers and academic programs, as well as several who admonished the board to keep the high school swimming pool open.  Even by reducing a budget gap of more than $2 million to just over $927,500 by using reserve funds, the district is faced with significant cuts.  Officials released a tentative list early this week, which resulted in teachers rallying to lobby to eliminate cuts in their departments.

Teacher's union president Stacie Kropp asked the board to present a budget that preserves existing programs with the idea that taxpayers could vote it down if they couldn't pay for it.  School districts have an opportunity to put a second budget to a vote if the first one fails.  "Budgets can be put up for a vote twice," Kropp said.  "Let the taxpayers decide by their democratic vote what they are willing to pay for.  If the budget fails on the first vote at least you will have tried to maintain Lansing's edge."


Kropp also set a philosophical tone for  keeping programs more intact despite the cost.  She equated cutting teaching positions with cutting students' ability to excel.  She cited statistics on student performance showing that Lansing students perform higher than the state average.  That includes scoring 9% higher on Regents exams, 3 points higher on the ACTs and 60 points higher on the SATs.

"The union is not oblivious to the financial difficulties placed upon the school district this Spring as they prepare budgets for next year," she said.  "However I would like to stress the importance of keeping the cuts as far from children as possible."

Kropp was followed by teachers across the spectrum of disciplines who stood up to warn of devastating impact of cuts on their programs.

"We'd like to remind you that this cut is not about just numbers of students in a classroom," said high school English teacher Lindsay Woodward.  "It is a specific teacher and program.  Specifically in our department it is our A and/ or honors programs that would be eliminated in addition to the faculty member.  The fundamental restructuring of our department would have drastic effects on  curriculum, from a loss of the focus on basic skills that some high school students still need to the elimination of being able to include the college essay as part of our senior level curriculum."

Social studies teacher Isis Ivery spoke of showing the human impact of cutting teachers.  She said that fewer courses would mean larger study halls, and larger classes which would reduce teachers' ability to help marginal students.

"Cutting teachers means eliminating courses that we are highly skilled to teach and to push students to think, speak, and write at a higher level," she said.  "We teach because we are passionate about kids, and because we believe that we are preparing students with the tools to make this world a better place."


Music teacher Eric Hummel argued that teachers in his department are specialists, so cutting a teacher cuts the discipline that that teacher teaches. 

"We would also be requiring teachers to teach outside their areas of expertise," he argued.  "The fact is that we are all specialists.  We were hired as such.  We accepted employment in the Lansing School District as such.  Our programs have flourished because of that.  If my job had been advertised as 'band and strings' or 'band and vocal' I would never have applied, nor would Bill Rankin have hired me.  To assign any of us outside our area of expertise would be a complete joke to our kids and they know it."

Parents also weighed in.  Baschli Leo said that keeping the pool open brings people from all segments of the community into the schools where they see the artwork on the walls, and students in the course of their school activities.  She said that makes voters more apt to vote yes at the polls.  Dennis Griffin spoke of his struggles in the Ithaca school district and how his kids had received more personal attention at Lansing.

Senior Luke Davis spoke of a specific teacher who is targeted in the list of potential cuts.  He said that without help from English teacher Andrea Huskie he might not have been as successful in his college acceptance as he was.  He said that student-teacher connections are important, and that cutting teachers should be a last resort.

Senior Robin Presthus said that he is dismayed with the proposed cuts, and that they will mean his younger brother won't have the opportunities that he has had.  Junior Ally Robinson said that cutting honors classes will bring stronger students down, and push weaker ones further back.  She also noted that she feared her five younger siblings would not be able to have the academic advantages she has had.

Student Nick Geisler said that if teachers are cut now you can't bring them back later when the economy is better.

"When you look at any school you have to ask yourself 'what is your greatest asset?'" Geisler said.  "Our greatest asset is right here next to me (pointing to teachers).  The idea that you would cut your greatest asset first is ludicrous.  I've heard that we need to cut excess.  But these people aren't excess."

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