OttawaHerald.com -- Community News. Community Connections.

	Franklin County, Kansas, USA

Subscriber Services Home Delivery Gift Subscription Stop-Start Delivery Missing Paper Back Issues Newsstand Locations Shopper Locations

Advertising Services Manage Your Account Place a Classified Ad Place a Display Ad Advertise Online Business Finder Directory

Other Services Submit News Laminated Items Photos & Keepsakes Article Archives Contact Us History of the Herald Our Policies

Suggest a poll topic

2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Friday, August 14, 2009 10:37 PM

Photo illustration by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald

The sour economy has proven a challenge for area school districts, local officials say. “They are going to have to do more with less resources, obviously,” Ottawa Superintendent Dean Katt said. “We’ve made so many cuts.” Some of those cuts will impact students, Katt said, but almost all of the cuts will impact teachers.

Balancing more with less: Schools juggle challenges

By COURTNEY SERVAES, Herald Staff Writer

Natasha Jenkins knows problems often don’t stay at home.

Jenkins, social studies teacher at Ottawa High School, sees those problems every day.

She sees disputes, divorces and money problems.

And those problems only amplify when the economy worsens, she said.

“Everything our students experience at home — the good and the bad — gets brought to school,” Jenkins said. “With the current state of the economy, I foresee the struggles and hardships families face being an extra burden that will impact students’ lives.”

To help students, Jenkins said teachers have to anticipate these problems and find ways to combat them — on top of an already stressful and ever-changing workload.

Ottawa

Ottawa Superintendent Dean Katt said the first day of school might be a little different this year.

Teachers usually have help from librarians and counselors before starting school, he said, but many of those positions have been cut or reduced.

“Teachers are accustomed to having everything ready the first day with kids,” Katt said. “There are going to be things that were ready before school started that aren’t going to be now.”

Not only that, but Katt said the district has significantly slashed the number of new hires this year. Last school year, he said the district hired about 35 teachers. This year, it only welcomes seven new teachers.

“That’s a lower number than typically,” Katt said. “It’s a drastic dropoff, but last year was kind of an exceptional year in the other way.”

Katt said the elementary art position was reduced from two positions to one, and the English classes might be more crowded at the high school.

“We don’t know how all of these cuts are going to affect us,” he said. “Things aren’t going to be done the way they were before.”

West Franklin

Dotson Bradbury knows it’s going to be challenging.

Bradbury, West Franklin superintendent, said meeting what’s known as Annual Yearly Progress, a requirement of federal education laws, every year is becoming more difficult — especially with fewer resources and larger class sizes.

“Making AYP is still in place, and the number of students who must score proficient continues to increase each year,” he said.

Bradbury said to combat the economy, some additional positions were cut last spring and others — like the school’s information technology director — were combined to form new positions.

In addition, he said the district cut 1.5 custodial positions, reduced one bus driver position, cut one language arts position and the school resource officer.

“We’re continuing to provide a quality education with larger classes and shrinking resources,” he said. “Our staff is committed to continuing to provide a quality education for every student in these challenging economic times.”

Central Heights

It’s not just the budget; it’s everything.

But Central Heights Superintendent Jim Reece says his staff has done well to adapt to any challenges it recently has faced.

Reece said Central Heights — unlike many of the other area schools — is not on a hiring freeze, but is being cautious about spending.

One of the most obvious changes to the school district will be to middle school math classes, which now will be taught by a different teacher, Reece said.

“Central Heights’ staff have done a great job of dealing with any challenges, not just the recent budget challenges,” he said.

Wellsville

The bottom line is: a lack of funding is hurting students, Wellsville Superintendent Denise O’Dea says.

“We are being asked, and in essence being required, by the state and federal government to continue to do what we have always done, but with less teachers and less resources,” she said.

O’Dea said students need extra teaching staff, more classes and fewer students in those classes to continue to be successful — something school districts are being forced to cut.

“The public continues to demand the results that have been seen in recent years, and that might not be a possibility,” she said. “While our district will continue to put the needs of all students first, the funding challenge will be a detriment to our kids.”

More with less

When it comes down to it, Katt says teachers are going to have to be more resourceful.

“They are going to have to do more with less resources, obviously,” he said. “We’ve made so many cuts.”

Some of those cuts will impact students, Katt said, but almost all of the cuts will impact teachers.

“I wouldn’t consider it pressure,” Jenkins said. “But I’ve taken into consideration that not all families will be able to afford school supplies within the first couple of weeks of the school year.”

Jenkins said she tried to stock up on school supplies this summer to help those students who might not be able to afford them right now.

“Personally, I know that trying to scrape by with finances can be quite a burden,” she said. "Younger students might not seem directly impacted by the struggles, but if a family is having financial difficulty it can sometimes cause emotional stress for everyone, children included.”

But at the end of the day, Jenkins just wants her students to take something away from this experience, to learn something.

“I think it’s important for students to realize, especially with the state of the economy, that education is their ticket outward and upward,” she said.

“As they read about job cuts, home foreclosures and our national debt, they should consider social and economic implications.”