‘What Are They Going to Do?’: Akron Teachers, Students, Parents, Board Members Lament Cuts and What They Mean

By Stephanie Warsmith, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

May 17–Akron school board members considered much deeper cuts than the ones they approved Monday night.

They weighed eliminating all sports. All music programs. All extracurricular activities.

Ultimately, they opted for less severe reductions that maintain some of those activities.

“We felt this would be too severe at this time,” said the Rev. Curtis Walker, the board’s president. “We don’t want to destroy the school system. We felt we could still be fiscally responsible and do it this way.”

The board approved $7.3 million in cuts Monday, including axing 116 positions. Among the reductions were 82 teachers; all junior varsity, freshman and middle school sports; foreign languages in elementary and middle school; and instrumental music in elementary school.

The board had previously signed off on about $3 million in cuts for the next school year. Those included 59 jobs — among them 33 teachers and five administrators.

Students, staff and parents were reeling Tuesday from the news.

One foreign language teacher was so distraught, she couldn’t work. Several students and staff members at Firestone High School cried.

The board cut two teachers in Firestone’s popular visual and performing arts program. School leaders said all areas in the program will continue to be offered, though some courses could be combined or eliminated.

Firestone students were relieved that more programs and positions weren’t touched.

“I’m happy they’re not cutting too deep” into visual and performing arts, said Mike Forfia, a sophomore enrolled in the program.

Forfia said he and others feared the program would be dismantled until the district got additional operating money.

“You would be unable to find teachers as excellent as we have right now…. They teach you everything you need to know,” said Forfia, who plays bass guitar and has picked up some piano and percussion this year.

Worried about students

Pat Long, an instrumental music teacher who thinks she’ll probably be out of a job, said she’s worried about her students. She teaches orchestra at Findley, Forest Hill and Bettes elementary schools, Jennings Middle School and North High School.

“I have students who will go to each other’s houses to practice after school,” she said. “They will stay after school to rehearse. They go to summer string camps. They are off the streets doing something productive. What are they going to replace that with?”

The cuts included six secretaries, who are members of the district’s only employee group without a contract. The reductions will be discussed Thursday, when the Akron Association of Classified Personnel resumes negotiations with the district.

Karen Dinkins, a spokeswoman for the 200-member union, said she’s not sure whether the six eliminated secretaries would come from schools or administrative buildings.

“We’re just like walking around thinking, ‘What are they going to do?’ ” said Dinkins, who is a secretary at Firestone High. “It’s certainly a feeling of unease.”

No surprise

Walker said he understands that people are upset, though he said they were warned what would happen if the district’s operating levy failed May 2. It lost by just over 500 votes.

“I don’t think anybody should be caught off guard or surprised,” he said.

Walker said the board wanted to move quickly so students and staff could plan.

“If we were going to cut all athletics, we needed to do so by May,” he said. “People will be getting ready for band camp and athletic camps.”

Some board members favored cutting all sports in the 2006-07 school year, while others didn’t want to touch that area. Board member James Hardy suggested a compromise — keeping varsity high school sports while getting rid of the other athletics.

“Every sport will be affected in some way,” he said, noting that most sports have freshman or junior varsity teams. “It affects everyone across the district in an even way.”

Hardy said he wishes the board had eliminated all supplemental contracts for extracurriculars, rather than just some. The board cut $688,118 in supplemental contracts out of a possible $2.6 million for the coming school year.

“When you start picking and choosing, it becomes more and more unfair,” he said.

Walker said the majority of the board wanted to keep as many programs intact as possible. He said board members looked for areas they felt would have the least impact, such as cutting instrumental music in fourth and fifth grade. Students now won’t be able to take orchestra until the sixth grade.

“We felt a child would not lose a whole lot from fourth to sixth grade,” he said.

Another try

The board plans to put another operating levy on the November ballot. If it passes, school leaders could consider restoring some things, Walker said. If it fails, the board will revisit the programs and activities that were spared in the latest round of cuts.

Lisa Bostwick, a parent who helped with the district’s failed levy attempt in May, thinks people will mobilize for the next campaign.

“I think everybody needed a breather,” said the mother of two. “Since the cuts have been made, I think we will gain momentum. Now, it’s like, ‘What do we gotta do?’ “

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Staff writer Katie Byard contributed to this article.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

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