Surveyor The Washington
2205 Forest Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403 Volume 53, Number 7
March 29, 2010
Budget cuts strain Cedar Rapids school district Gov. Chet Culver hopes to boost funding by $12.5 million for CRCSD
Wash will lose 4 teachers at the end of the school year
Des Moines School District plans to eliminate 480 positions this year
Martin Pearson instructs his Top Level Language Arts 10 class. This is the last trimester the class will be offered due to budget cuts and Pearson’s retirement.
Isaac Halyard Staff Writer The faltering economy has left numerous school districts across the nation slashing budgets and cutting staff. The Cedar Rapids Community School District is no exception. Decisions made by the district have determined that Washington High School will likely lose four to five teachers after the 2009-10 school year. Dr. Plagman said the effects of the economic situation on Wash were, “troublesome but not catastrophic.” Teacher cuts are inevitable, but the system is fashioned to keep teachers employed whenever possible. Decisions on who to cut are based primarily on how long the teacher has worked at the school. If a cut must be made within a certain school subject, in most cases, the newest teachers are the first to be cut from the staff. If a teacher does lose his job at a particular school, he can usually stay within the Cedar Rapids School District. “At the moment, I don’t know of any teacher who will lose their job after the cuts are made. They may have to switch schools, but they will still hold their position as a teacher,” said Dr. Plagman. The economic recession has left almost every school district in the nation with financial woes. Government institutions tend to feel a recession’s effects about a year after the recession takes place. “Much of the nation may be easing out of recession, but this is when we’re getting hit the hardest,” said Dr. Plagman. In comparison to other schools throughout the nation, Wash is in a much less sticky situation. The Kansas City, Missouri school district recently announced a plan that would close 28 of the 61 schools in the city. At Wash, the retirement announcements of Kenneth Jans and Martin Pearson have helped reduce potential teacher cuts. No classes will be dropped from the course list, and next year school will function with very few alterations. This is not the first time in recent years that Wash has been forced to make layoffs. The retirement of Jason Alberty two years ago narrowly eliminated the need for one such teacher cut. Those cuts were being made due to declining student enrollment. Now, student enrollment has leveled off, and will even increase slightly next year. The jump from no cuts to four to five cuts in one year is driven by the dire economy. In accordance with Iowa law, the deadline to notify teachers that they are being let go is April 30. A number of things can happen between now and that time, but the unavoidable fact is that someone’s favorite teacher will likely not be returning to Wash next fall.
In this issue
The Georgie Awards: WHS students vote on their favorite popcultural picks of the year
The opinions section focuses in on your craziest Chatroulette moments
Page 11
Page 6
News investigates the nutritional value of Washington school lunches Page 2