We are the teachers of the Vinton County Local School District in Southeast Ohio and wish to express our professional outrage and indignation concerning the current attitude at the state level to education. While Vinton County may be one of the economically poorest areas of the state and one of the least populated counties in the state, we as classroom teachers do not believe our students to be any less important than students in any other part of the state. It is this commitment to our students and our classrooms that prompts this letter.
As professional educators, we know (perhaps far better than teachers in wealthier districts) the importance of education in the lives of our students. For our students, education is the only key to the opportunities our state and our country provide. As a staff, we are well aware of the value of the classroom teacher, and we take our role seriously. We in Vinton County are working against crippling odds, but we can not continue to work alone. We teachers are losing the battle. We, in our district, can no longer provide our students with the key to opportunity.
As teachers of the Vinton County Local School District, we are resigned to the acceptance of certain economic realities. For us, these realities are:
•inadequate, overcrowded, antiquated buildings
•inadequate library facilities
•inadequate library funds
•inadequate lab facilities
•inadequate lab funds
•outdated textbooks
•large classes
•each bus traveling up to 80,000 miles a year
•spending $1,400 less per pupil than the state average
•no high school cafeteria
•no handicap accessibility
•salaries that do not keep up with inflation
•employee out-of-pocket expenditures for classroom materials
All of these areas of inadequacy are a daily part of our classroom experience. It is not something we read of in the newspaper. There are things however, we as a faculty are not ready to accept. We can not in good conscience as educators accept budget cuts that further constrict our ability to meet the needs of the students of Vinton County. For us, our students are the primary concern. Because of this concern we can not accept the following budget cuts from the general fund:
Principals' Equipment (new & used) $4104 $3500 $604
Maintenance Agreements $1500 $1500 $0
Special Education Teaching Supplies $13935 $6000 $7935
Total Amount of Budget Cut $234000
We teachers understand fiscal responsibility as well as all other taxpayers. As individuals we too must establish budgets that cover our needs and desires, but we are not asking anything for ourselves. What we request is that the state consider our students the priority that are. Our students in Vinton County are as much a part of the citizenry and leadership of tomorrow as the students in wealthy districts. What we are asking as classroom teachers is equity in state funding now, today. Our students deserve it. We do not need further study, committee discussions, blue ribbon panels, lawsuits, or political rhetoric. The state must ensure that all school districts are adequately funded, not just those fortunate enough to be located in a high tax based district.
In all the discussion of what should be done, what is lost is that students are currently denied an education in the state of Ohio. Our district is in crisis. We are facing massive budget cuts, reduction in personnel and borrowing from the state loan fund. That means our students will fall further behind. As teachers, we can not nor do we intend to accept this fate for our students. Our students deserve every opportunity the state provides wealthier students. Our students deserve equity in opportunity now, not five years from now. In fact, our Constitution grants that all in America are equal and should be treated equally.
The students of Vinton County Local School District deserve the state's concern. They are sons and daughters of taxpayers and voters. These same students will be taxpayers and voters. How can we teach these students to be good, productive citizens, if the state of Ohio shows them plainly it is not interested in them? How do we as teachers stress the importance of education, achievement, and citizenship, if the state clearly indicates its lack of interest in them?
As classroom teachers we are only asking what is fair for our students. Our district needs assistance now, so that we can properly educate our students. Only through a quality education will our students have a chance to escape the ills already thrust upon them. We beseech the state to consider the plight of the students of Vinton County and have the compassion and decency to help up help them now -- without waiting for the slow wheels of justice to prevail. As classroom teachers, we are committed to educating all of our students regardless of their circumstances. Our question is: Does the state share this same conviction? Please show our students that the state of Ohio is as committed to them as their teachers are.
Sincerely yours,
The Classroom Teachers of the
Vinton County Local School District
•Paid for by donations from the classroom teachers
