Our students are our future; An investment in them is an investment in our values

As we close out the school year, graduation events and parties abound. I attended the Gray-New Gloucester High School graduation as a teacher, where I had the honor of seeing six of my seniors, who have overcome unimaginable odds to finish their high school experience, walk across the stage. Many of them would not be graduating at all if it were not for the tireless dedication of the teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, and administrators who gave countless hours beyond their prescribed duties to make sure that they succeeded. Behind each and every senior was a team of dozens of dedicated educators who helped them grow into their potential over the course of their thirteen years in public education. 

I also attended my daughter's preschool graduation, where her teacher miraculously coordinated thirty five-year-olds to sing and dance to six different songs. Throughout the year, we have attended a transportation parade, a royal dress-up party, a pajama party, and a duck night to say goodbye to the ducks that her class hatched. All of these events and activities go far beyond the requirements of a preschool teacher and are a testament to the staff’s commitment to giving our youngest ones an engaging and eye-opening introduction to public education. I’m sure every family has similar stories of teachers who have gone above and beyond to make sure their child is cared for and excited about learning.

If this budget does not pass on June 10, it will be our students and teachers who suffer the most. The vast majority of the budget goes to teacher salaries, so it will be teaching and support staff positions that will be cut and vacancies not filled. This will inevitably mean larger class sizes, less individualized attention, and therefore less capacity for the engaging projects, field trips, and activities that spark our kids' curiosity and make them want to come back to school every day. 

While all students will feel the repercussions of a reduced budget, it is our most vulnerable students who will be impacted the most. As a teacher, I often work with kids who have the highest needs. I see firsthand the effects of kids being crowded out of large classes with teachers who can’t give them the support they need. Larger class sizes, cuts to enrichment programs, and fewer social-emotional support systems invariably affect students from low-income households, those receiving special education services, and those impacted by trauma. They are the ones who get squeezed out and overlooked. 

As education is being attacked on the national level, it is even more imperative that we commit to supporting our students on the local level. With federal calls for education funding to be cut,  the ongoing effort to dismantle the Department of Education, and specific threats to cut federal funding in Maine, our students are being used as political pawns in a game they cannot control.

If we want a robust, rigorous, and engaging education system that we are proud of, we must have the courage to support a budget that reflects these values. It is easy to see large eight-digit figures and wonder what the harm is in cutting it down but every one of those dollars directly impacts the students. Every one of them is a person with a whole story who deserves the best education possible. Every one of those dollars is used to directly benefit our students and no teacher would dare waste a colored pencil, field trip, or science lab kit. We should be thinking continually about how we can grow, improve, and innovate our school system, not how we can do more with less, stretching our teachers thin and pushing our most vulnerable students out. 

Our students are our future and if we want a thriving community we can be proud of, we need to invest in the education of our youth now so that they can grow to be the leaders, innovators, and change-makers of our community tomorrow.