RedforEd-The Tazewell County Edition

Tazewell County Public Schools are going Red for Ed on June 5th

Every year around the month of April, the small town rumor mill starts churning at full speed. Are they finally going to close schools? Which administrator is getting moved where? Are they going to replace the newly vacant science position? Will we have funding for transportation? Are they going to cut middle school sports? Will we continue to have a CTE program at our schools?

The truth is, we all know that most of the time, the powers that be get these rumors out into the community so that teachers will start making phone calls, and pressuring our Board of Supervisors representatives. It's a way to control the masses. It's a power play. Every year, crisis is averted. However, this year, we are told the concerns are legitimate.

Tazewell County Public Schools ranks 120th out of 125 in the state where local funding is concerned. We operate on skeleton crews on a daily basis. We all try to work as a team to make sure the kids get what they need. We spend our own money to buy supplies. We work tirelessly to get the job done. Our students, in turn, rank 20th in the state of Virginia based on testing scores.

Our budget is short several million dollars this year. Cutting programs, administrators, sports, closing schools, and raising insurance costs for employees are all on the table. Ideas being proposed to help fund the schools include raising property taxes by 2-5% and reinstating yearly fees on vehicles in the amount of $10.00.

I'm going to go to the board meeting tomorrow with my fellow teachers. I understand other areas are receiving cuts as well including our courts and possibly our Sheriff's office. There are other county employees fighting for their jobs and benefits as well. I saw a post on Facebook earlier
that really pushed my buttons.

There are points I agree with. We do need to close some smaller schools down. No one wants it. It hurts small communities when schools close. The community loses its identity, especially when it's a high school. However, our population simply can not sustain the school system and all of the buildings in operation. However, that isn't going to fix the budget crisis and it doesn't address the fact that if the board of supervisors does not increase funding, we will officially be the lowest funded school system in the state. We can not afford to lose more teachers. We can not afford to cut programs. These are our kids. This is our future! I feel the circuit court employees should go speak if they are so inclined, but that doesn't mean the school system doesn't need funding as well.

I think that the point is that Tazewell County is not what it once was. We don't have a promising economy. We don't have jobs. We have nothing to bring people in other than a mountain and curves for motorcyclists. We also have a couple ATV trails. That isn't going to repopulate this area. We need industry. We need jobs. Coal is not the answer. Those days are over. Our older folks are dying and our younger folks are leaving. Until we show these kids they are worth it and fund our schools, how can we blame them?

We are going to have to compromise somewhere. We need the money from the board. The employees of our county can not afford the rise in health insurance costs being proposed. If we cut positions we lose most of our young teachers. If we cut sports programs, we lose kids to drugs. Let's not forget the article in TIME Magazine about our county and drugs.

It's time to start thinking about the future. It's time for the Board of Supervisors to fund our schools for the sake of our children and our future. It's time for the School Board to make some hard decisions. It's time for us to get out of the rut we are in and find a reason for our young folks to stay here.