Teachers, public respond on cuts

Storm Lake school staff and the public had the opportunity to speak out on proposed budget reductions to the school board and administrators Thursday. Board President Ed McKenna said the board was there to listen, not respond to the comments at this time. Speakers were limited to two minutes each.

Last week, a proposal was made on possible reductions - including staff positions - to help whittle the budget down as much as $1.1 million. Superintendent Dr. Paul Tedesco called it "a work in progress" and none of the proposals are definite. Pending a decision on this year's state funding, the board is preparing for a worst case scenario.

Jason Baker, third grade teacher, spoke on a recommendation to eliminate two third grade jobs. Development of reading skills is crucial at this age and with less teachers, he feels the students' skills, and test scores, could suffer.

He also worried over proposed reduction of teachers in kindergarten, fifth and sixth grade. Class sizes would have to be increased and with a diverse population and different levels of developmental skills, a teacher's work could be more challenging and students could suffer. "I'm scared as a second-year teacher."

The proposal to reduce a middle school choir teacher and a middle school band teacher struck the nerves of many parents.

Dr. Roy Grant said he has three sons involved in the music programs made available to them in the schools and they have done very well.

"Music is a shining example" of the wonderful things the district has to offer. "I would hate to see that diminished. Music education is not just music education. Statistics show that training in music can help in other areas of learning."

Another concerned parent pointed out the many awards - from middle school to high school - that the students have earned over the past many years. She also stated that 15 years ago there were only 38 students involved in high school choir; for the past several years there have been about 200 members.

The support of the public for the music programs is evidence when you look at how many people come out for the concerts, she said.

"It all starts at the middle school."

Two other parents shared that they chose to open enroll their children into the Storm Lake School District because of the excellent music programs.

"The music program is an asset to this community," one of those parents said.

Parent Deb Matasovsky said she had four children who took part in the music programs throughout their years in the Storm Lake schools and two have gone on to continue that musical interest in college.

"It is because of the dedication of the faculty and staff" that they have continued that interest, she pointed out, giving kudos to the teachers.

Middle school band teacher Holly Safley pointed out that there is a high percentage of minority students who have discovered an interest in music and the music staff would not like to see those numbers jeopardized by reducing the number of teachers, allowing for less time to work with the students.

It was pointed out by middle school band teacher Barb Wells and middle school choir director Joanne Tucker that the teachers work together to provide individual lessons - Wells' provides 88 individual lessons for woodwind students each week, Safely provides 63 individual lessons for brass and percussion students each week and Tucker provides lessons to 134 students each week. Not included in these statistics are the regular group time and extended lessons provided as the music students are preparing for solo/ensemble contests.

Wells said she feels it is important to keep all the middle school staff in place to provide these students the best music education possible "for the success of the high school" music programs.

Speech teacher Cindy Cone spoke against the possible reduction of her assistant speech coach.

"I am curious why, out of all the other areas that could be cut, why the administration would choose" the assistant speech coach position? "What justification could there be when there are, and have been, so many students involved in both large group and individual contest speech for so many years at SLHS?"

She pointed out that this season there are 68 students in large group and 42 individual speech contestants. "Clearly speech is a viable and worthwhile program that represents the school in a positive way throughout the state of Iowa. These participation numbers are consistent and have been for the past 21 years."

She added that the role of the assistant speech coach takes on a great responsibility and "is an important part of a viable, successful program. To cut these positions would mean fewer students could take part in contest speech. Is that really what our school board wants to happen?"

She concluded, "I have always felt that the Storm Lake School District worked hard to put kids first. Can we really, or should we ever put a price on the life skills, the opportunity for success and the confidence gained for the many, many students involved in large group and individual speech?"

Another area that could possibly see some cuts is high school art.

The reduction of a proposed one teacher, pointed out art instructor Ron Netten, would reduce the the art program at the high school to half of what it is.

This school year, there are 350 students enrolled in 14 different courses; that is just under 50 percent off all students.

"These elective classes have provided top quality education to all of our students and given many opportunities for success," Netten said. "It is a great place for language learners to receive numerous ELL strategies as they are exposed to English through various art tools."

He pointed out that 77 percent or 268) of those involved are minority students.

He, too, stressed the success that the students have seen in the art programs and that it is "simply unrealistic for one person to do this...and would be a huge step backwards for the arts at SLHS and for our traditionally arts-minded community."

Peg Havens spoke out about the possibility of her extracurricular position of Advanced Career Exploration being cut.

"We have seen diversity in our school for over a decade and we have become a model to others who are struggling with diversity issues," she told the board.

She stressed the importance of the business/vocational classes and the concepts of ACE.

"The business vocational classes are among the best in the district at reaching the needs of our unique student population, many of whom will remain in Storm Lake beyond high school and enter the local workforce. When you take away these programs, there are fewer opportunities for many of our students to excel. Without success, students fail and eventually drop out. Keep Storm Lake the model for the rest of Iowa. LEt's build on our strengths, keep our vocational program intact and continue to meet both our students' and our community's needs."

Teacher Julie Winterton spoke on behalf of the high school language arts teachers, in response to being notified that there is a possibility that one language arts teacher would be reduced.

"The language arts department's goal is for all students to read, write and communicate well," she told the board, adding that the teachers of this department are having trouble understanding how reducing a teacher "can be effective" for the students.

Students are required to have eight language arts credits to graduate and because the new schedule is one period shorter, it is more difficult for students are having a difficult time getting some of these classes into their own schedules as well as dual credit college courses (free college credit and high school credit is given to students who take and pass these classes.)

"Storm Lake Community Schools has long been known for its diversity and today our student population is even more diverse...and also have many socio-economically struggling students. With our level of poverty we need the language art electives for students who may otherwise have difficulty making the transition from high school to college. We believe we should not be eliminating opportunities for kids to shine, but should be opening doors for our students to fulfill the District's mission statement of helping students become perceptive thinkers, collaborative workers, informed citizens and self-directed learners. We feel the change in schedule and proposed reductions contradict what is best for our students."

Parent Mike Kelly pointed out that the education provided by the Storm Lake Schools could be an economic development issue. He and his family lived in the community and he saw his children "blossom" in school. Employment took the family away from the community but they returned, he said, "because of the schools."

He has shared with family members the opportunities his kids have had in the Storm Lake schools and some of them, he said, are now looking for ways to move to the community so they children can have those same opportunities.

"Thanks for your commitment," he finished.

School Board President McKenna completed the meeting stressing that the board has not made any decisions.

"We're here to listen not to appease the public. We want to figure out ways not to cut staff or programs. It's because of our governor that we're here."