I would like to thank those of you who have contributed to these discussions. As you know, it is one thing to sit at our computers and ramble on about the repercussions of cutting freshman sports and charging bus fees, and it is entirely another to get up and do something about it. Jurupa Unified’s next board meeting is set for April 6, 2009. I urge those of you who have contributed to these discussions to tell your friends and family that, in order to make a difference in our community and have a say where our tax dollars are spent, we need to be present at those board meetings. We need to “shed light” on the ramifications of such cuts and increases on our children and our community. We must not forget that our district is suffering financially, just as every district around the state of California is too. We must also not forget that in light of just last week, over 200 pink slips were issued to educators in this district alone. With all this in mind, I think that together we can bring some very lucid and rational arguments to the board.
Superintendent Elliot Duchon very humbly stated that it is in JUSD’s best interest “to budget with your child close to our hearts. Together, we can weather this economic downturn and continue to keep our focus on Our Children, Our Schools, Our Future” (Duchon).
So, once again, I hope to see my fellow Jurupa citizens on April 6, 2009, where we can “weather this economic downturn” together!
Stay posted for new budget information, new blogs by me, and updated information on the plight of JUSD's budget crisis. Hopefully, in the near future, we can turn our optimism from earlier posts into reality!
Reference:
Duchon, Elliot . "Parent Letter from the Superintendent." Jurupa Unified School District. 15 Jan. 2009. 9 Mar. 2009. http://www.jusd.k12.ca.us/cnt/docs/JUSD_District_Budget_Information_Parent_Letter.pdf
This blog will be devoted to exemplifying the detrimental effects that cutting freshman sports will have on Jurupa’s youth and our community. I know the essential importance sports plays on Jurupa’s youth firsthand, because I once was an adolescent in Jurupa, and for the last four years, I have been coaching freshman sports at Jurupa Valley High School.
What many fail to understand is that freshman sports do not only involve high school students; it gives our young students in middle-schools something to look forward to when they enter the daunting high school atmosphere. For many freshmen, like me, sports enabled an easy bridge for friendship and social acceptance. What implications will arise if freshman sports are taken away from our schools?
Well, over the course of the last four years, I have had the propitious opportunity of coaching about fifty of Jurupa’s youth; and this year, I will watch my first year players graduate. I have never been more proud than being a part of their lives. Many of these teens, however, would not be where they are today if it was not for the sports programs our district offered them beginning the summer they graduated eighth grade. Many of those teens would be caught up in gangs, drugs, and who knows what. Why? How do I know this? Just ask the next teen you see tagging your neighborhood which sports team they are on. If you don’t want to do this, then take my word for it. Know that many of my players and their parents have told me that sports have kept them off the streets. Freshman sports give those young teens an experience that they will remember and embrace for the rest of their lives. It gives a young teenager an opportunity to put all of life’s heartaches on pause. It teaches them about purpose, responsibility, leadership, teamwork, hard work, and most importantly, it teaches them about life. It lays the framework for the rest of their high school careers. Teens in gangs do not have to keep a certain grade point average, but every student who plays sports must keep his or her grades up.
I can go on for days about the detrimental effects cutting freshman sports will have, as it is the foundation for young adulthood for so many teens. To the same degree, referring back to my previous posts, I can assure you that there will be much more gang activity, graffiti, and drugs in our community if our district chooses to cut freshman sports and does not give them a bus ride to school. How are we, the adults who teach and coach them, suppose to make a difference if they can’t get to school? And, if they do, how will they react when they find out that the only exercise they will receive is that long walk home?
In this blog, I want to focus solely on the repercussions of charging bus fees for families in a community that is by no means affluent. One of the comments left on a previous blog will be a good starting point to propel this discussion. Future Math Teacher wrote: “[i]t is hard to believe that a community struggling to keep their homes would be charging bus fees. I drive around Jurupa and see so many home foreclosures. What happens to the people who can’t afford those fees? Do they drop out of school? Do they walk miles to get there? I wonder what the statistics would be of high school drop outs once those fees are applied to busing.” Thank you for posting Future Math Teacher! Using statistics relevant to the Jurupa community, I will explain how those fees are unfeasible, especially during a tumultuous time when Americans are fighting for financial stability amidst a struggling economy. Hopefully, the last statistic you mentioned, of high school dropouts as a result of bus fees, will never have to be recorded.
We have all heard about the NCLB, or the No Child Left Behind headed up by our previous President, right? Well, what about those students who will be left behind? And no, I am not referring to the classroom here – I am talking about those students who will be left behind because their families can’t afford to pay for the bus; I am talking about those children who are going to watch that symbol of American public schools pass by their homes catering only those who have enough money for public school.
In my opinion, this is absurd. It is morally bereft to expect a community whose average income is not only below the state average, but the national average as well, to pay for public school transportation (Jurupa). The district can’t reasonably expect parents to pay almost $300 for bus rides to and from school based on the notion that many families have more than one student in the district. Although there is no law that requires districts to pay for busing, there is a law that states that students have to be in school.
And as such, over 60% of Jurupa's students are on the free lunch program (JUSD Fact Book). I know that I stated earlier that I am an English major, but I passed the CBEST, so watch this! If you take a high school student who purchases a mediocre school lunch, it will cost that person about $2.00. Now, say that student never misses one day of school, and he or she buys lunch every single day. A school year is 180 days. A really unfulfilling lunch is about $2.00. Multiply that together, and he or she will spend $360 a school year. What's the point? Well, if more than half of our district K-12 can't afford lunch, then how can we expect families to spend that much in busing? We can't.
I think that we must not forget that implications of bus fees in an area in where it has always been free. Many students will be left behind before they even have a chance to prove themselves inside a classroom. What kind of message is it sending to the families that do not have the means to provide transportation for something that has long been provided for free, simply because they are working to put food on the table?
I do not think the district understands the kind of criticism that will manifest from this kind of discrimination – a word that I wanted to deter this discussion’s focus from – but unfortunately, a word that will more than likely find itself at the forefront of this argument should these fees become reality. We need to remember that the certain standards that we expect our schools to uphold can only be reached if we understand that free busing is inherently interconnected with the ability to reach those goals.
Reference:
"Jurupa, California." City Data . 2008. 15 Mar. 2009. http://www.city-data.com/city/Jurupa-California.html.
"JUSD Fact Book." Jurupa Unified School District. Apr. 2006. 9 Mar. 2009. http://www.jusd.k12.ca.us/cnt/docs/fact%20book.pdf.
