With the news of the major budget cut in the Pembroke School District, morale amongst teachers and students, alike, seems to be sinking.
As PA tries to navigate a $3 million budget cut, some challenging decisions will have to be made in the upcoming months. Teaching positions and classes could be eliminated, and the landscape of this academy could look entirely different next year.
Though these changes will have no effect on me, as a graduating senior, the current state of the school leaves me with some major concerns.
Some of the potential changes that have been rumored include eliminating some AP and elective courses with lower enrollments. Currently, I am enrolled in AP Literature for my senior English class and Journalism as an elective, two courses that have allowed me to grow as a writer and prepare me for college where my intent is to study journalism at the University of New Hampshire.
With the potential removal of any courses, the chance to grow as a learner and discover your passions could get lost.
Additionally, if teaching positions are eliminated, class sizes will increase, promoting more lecture hall-type classes. These larger classes will make it more difficult for teachers to engage with their students individually. While some students will be able to handle it, others may find it extremely difficult to not have one-on-one discussions with their teachers.
Many of my friends and soccer teammates will be juniors next year, and junior year is commonly regarded as the most important year of high school. I am sympathetic to the struggles they may face with such drastic changes.
Looking much further into the future, the prospect of having a child of my own and having to send them to any public school in this current climate is terrifying. While PA is just one example of the disconcerting direction that public education is moving, this also seems to be a snapshot of schools across the nation.
As fewer and fewer students are entering the education profession, and resources continue to get cut across the United States, I become increasingly worried about the direction we, as a school and a nation, are heading.
While I am grateful to be leaving Pembroke before this budget cuts come into effect, I cannot help but be concerned for the future.
