Commentary: Time to prioritize public education

We all realize public education is in turmoil; however, we are all experts in hiding this. We provide a well-rounded, quality public education here in Scotts Valley, even as the state has continually dealt us a bad hand.
Whether one is in the classroom or not, we all have done a tremendous job, even when stripped of the resources and people to perform these jobs. This is both a blessing and a curse.
Obviously, students have benefited from our dedication, but if we make it look too easy, we may not get the necessary financial tax support from the community at large. We’re at a crossroad, albeit a foggy one.
Even though negotiations throughout the state are bleak, putting the burden of what to do about public education on the shoulders of board members, district personnel and teachers is partially misdirected. The decision on what path we want to follow is really a public decision, and if we want to avoid difficult decisions similar to the ones we will make at the negotiation table, the public has to be loud and clear about its support for publicly educating its future citizens.
We can no longer say, “Yes, I read about the problems we’re having in the state regarding public ed, but my daughter’s teacher is doing fine.” Even with the incredibly generous support of parents and community members in this district, we are still facing cuts to personnel and important programs, to the detriment of a quality public education.
We are possibly facing a cut of more than $800 per student in funding, something that no district can sustain; we’ll have to make prudent choices. The burden of these decisions will fall on administration, support personnel, teachers and, ultimately, our students. This is unfortunate, but we’re at a point now where it has become too difficult to mask our problems.
The priorities of our board need to be made loud and clear. One group shouldn’t take the brunt of the cuts. We need to work and negotiate in an atmosphere of positive thinking. Teachers/educators need to be a budget priority, because our students and their parents and ultimately our society depend on us to provide a well-rounded quality education that produces informed, critically aware citizens.
John Magliato teaches at Scotts Valley Middle School.