As I read Susannah Robert’s excellent letter (“Stop teacher layoffs,” April 23) I felt compelled to share my story of how school budget cuts can ultimately affect a student later in life.
I moved to San Luis Obispo in the middle of my junior year of high school (Oct. 2001) from a very small town in Wisconsin. My school in that state was set up very differently than SLOHS, which made for some difficulties in which classes I had to take or retake. By taking summer classes, I would have broken even credit-wise for graduating. However, due to budget constraints, the school decided to change from a five-period trimester to a six-period semester, taking three classes out of the year, which put me three classes short of being able to graduate.
My plan for my senior year was to also take physics and a class on teaching—I wanted to be a hhigh-school physical science teacher. But I didn’t get to do that, I didn’t get the opportunity to apply to a university, and ended up at Cuesta College after a semester off. Cuesta is a great school, but without that little extra bit of high school I was left in the dust. Budget cuts prevented a very important part of my education and I got left behind.
Everyone needs to think about the future when they are deciding to reduce funding to education. Reducing education funding will destroy the lives of some students that could be great.
Comments