Something stinks in school land

Since the school staffing cuts last year, I have noticed a few things that have gone down hill.

First, the class sizes have been increased while the amount of educational assessing has gone up. The teachers no longer have time to teach the kids; hope the kids are picking it all up through the assessment tests. Lunch periods are so short that when I went to have lunch with my child, I was not able to finish eating before dismissal time. The teacher associates are so busy with paper work that time with kids, interacting, is being shortened.

Now let's talk about how dirty our schools are becoming. Classrooms are being cleaned every other day; some of them are so bad that they smell. The restrooms are becoming so bad that my children refuse to use them. When the kids complained to school administrators, the answer was “there were cuts.”

That is not an answer, that's an excuse! I don't think I am asking much when I ask for an environment where a teacher has time to teach my child. Where my child is given enough time to taste the food she is eating. Where sending my child to school isn't putting her health and safety at risk daily.

The school board and Supt. Benson need to look at cutting from the top next time. Perhaps the cuts that were made last year were not in the best interest of the children.

Jennifer Lee

Cedar Rapids