Sequestration Bad for Local School Districts

The Bethlehem Area School District is the 6th largest district in PA serving over 14,000 students from a wide range of diverse and socio-economic backgrounds.  We, as a school district, have a constitutional obligation to meet the needs of every student that comes to our doors.  It is no secret that our diversity is both our greatest asset and greatest challenge.  Being able to serve the needs of all students in a large urban district is costly and relies heavily on a well trained professional staff.  Over the past 5 years the BASD has sustained major cuts to our programs that serve the neediest students.  Some of those include the reduction of our SPARK PreK program, elimination of both Career Academy for troubled high school students and the Regional Academic Standards Academy for struggling middle school students, as well as reductions in tutoring, guidance, math and reading supports and 7th and 8th grade teaming.  All local school districts here in the Lehigh Valley are already short staffed when it comes to teachers and support staff because of the recent harmful state and federal budgets.  Now on top of all of these cuts, none of which have been restored, we are facing the possibility of more reductions if the sequester runs its course. 

Let me be clear, if these across the board cuts are allowed to continue the 2013-14 school year will be severely impacted.  The cuts will affect such programs as Title I, Title II, and Title III aid to high-poverty schools in the BASD, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Career and Technical Education, School Improvement, and Head Start grants.  Our biggest area of concern is Title I.  Title I is a federally funded program designed as a supplemental program to ensure that all children have equitable access to quality educational opportunities. The financial assistance provided through Title I enable Local Education Agencies like the BASD to better meet the academic needs of children in schools with high poverty levels. Through Title I programs, students receive supplemental instruction in reading, language arts, and mathematics with the goal of their reaching proficiency in academic achievement standards and state assessments.  Title I money goes to support  Teacher and counselor salaries and benefits, administrative costs, staff development in reading and math, supplies, parent involvement programs, and mandated set-asides such as School Choice, Supplemental Educational Services, Parent Involvement, and Non-Public Services.  Title II funding goes to support Teacher salaries and benefits for class size reduction and Staff development opportunities to ensure that all teachers are highly qualified.  Both of which are proven strategies to the close achievement gap.  Title III funding goes to Supplemental educational programming for Limited English Proficient (LEP) and immigrant students at elementary and secondary levels.  The BASD receives over $4 million of Title 1,2,3 funding.  Any reduction to these areas, even as little as 10%, will have drastic effects to our neediest students.  It will be extremely difficult to continue these services as they exist today with a cut in federal funding.  If we are able to sustain them at current levels it will be another blow to local taxpayers who more and more are being forced to step in when it is the responsibility state and federal governments to properly fund education. 

Additionally, now more than ever we must invest more, not less in career and technical education.  These specialized schools allow students to gain skill sets and certifications that will allow them to obtain family supporting jobs right out of high school.  The Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical School is a leader in training high schools students to be able to obtain jobs in law enforcement, nursing, precision machining, and culinary arts right out of high school.  None of which would be possible without the support of the federal and state governments.   We cannot sit back and allow these devastating cuts to take place while major corporations take advantage of tax loopholes to pay little or no federal income tax each year.  If Washington is serious about deficit reduction then they would address clear examples of government waste and not punish America’s neediest students.  If we as a nation want to remain competitive in today’s global economy then we must adequately fund public education both in Washington DC and Harrisburg.  This is why we all must call on Congress to stop playing politics with our children.