yesterday, along with many katy isd teachers, my sister was laid off because of "budget cuts." she is a 9th grade biology teacher at morton ranch high school and was pulled out of class yesterday and told that at the end of the year she would no longer have a job. my sister is not only a wonderful, dedicated teacher, but she is also a single mother of two amazing little girls (as you know and have seen here :)), so i am pretty much taking this as a personal attack.
katy isd is a huge district in texas, where the superintendent alton frailey makes a stunning salary of $288,400!! at the beginning of this year he was given a $10k raise - teachers can't afford to feed their own children but somehow that made the budget cuts...wow. parents, students, teachers and even concerned community members are stunned and shocked at the cuts and disgusted by the ability of the "higher ups" to do nothing - treating themselves to spa days and country club visits, driving in their luxury vehicles, completely ignoring the fact that the school district is falling apart, and doing absolutely nothing to combat it. who cares as long as they get paid, right? WRONG.
today, at 9 am, students at morton ranch organized a protest outside of the school. many have signs and even some of my sister's students wore "keep osteen" t-shirts (that is amazing). what is more sobering, many of these students do not have stable parental figures in their lives and these teachers are all they've got. now they are taken away and the students will all but slide into oblivion that is increased class sizes, overworked and underpaid teachers, and the greed that keeps the machine going at the top.
i could not be more proud of these students taking a stand for something that really matters to them! using their voice will hopefully reach someone in charge and make a change. if these kids are telling us that this isn't right, we need to listen - OPEN YOUR EYES AND EARS GOVERNMENT!!! this is the least of your problems...cause as you know, when the baby bear cub cries, the mama bear isn't far behind. we are coming for you. this isn't right and we won't back down.
ok dear readers, thanks for staying tuned during my soapbox moment today!!! hope you liked my little pink floyd nod as my title ;)
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4 comments:
I did like your Pink Floyd nod! I can't believe everything that's going on right now throughout the country. From teachers being laid off, to NPR being defunded, to trying to cut Planned Parenthood and not paying our military personnel. Where are our priorities? Aren't the American people the biggest concern? It sickens me. My sister-in-law was laid off from her teaching job, too. The students adore her, but because she's a newer teacher, she got cut. It's such a shame. I'm so glad that people are protesting and standing up for what they believe is right and fair.
Wow, I am so sorry for your sister! I get sick every time I think about what they are doing to kids, schools, teachers... My roommate just got her masters in teaching, and the sub pool in portland is so overfull, they aren't even accepting applications. What a mess.
I can't believe they pulled her out of class to tell her! So ridiculous. And it's happening all over the country. We're experiencing it pretty bad here in AZ. I really don't get it. What is the goal here? Every year they take away more and more
pics-o-andrea
I am deeply saddened by M being laid off from her teaching position. I cannot comprehend saving well paid administrators at the expense of our teachers. Oh, wait, common sense is NOT the order of the day. We need a miracle, NOW!!
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