Parents, students and teachers of a small elementary school in Pasadena have a big message: Save our teachers!
“As a smaller, older community school, our classroom sizes are much smaller than your average school,” said Heather Zerbe, parent of a fourth-grader at Riviera Beach Elementary School, at an Anne Arundel school board meeting this week.
“We feel the smaller class sizes with more students next year will place students at a disadvantage and a risk.”
The school system is planning for an anticipated shortfall in county funding by holding 150 teaching positions vacant next year.
The school system?s proposed $969 million fiscal 2009 operating budget includes $72 million to meet salary and related increases for employees to fully fund negotiated increases.
If the county doesn?t provide enough funding, the school system has planned to reallocate some teachers to other schools ? a move that would increase class sizes.
Riviera Beach Elementary?s 14 teachers would drop to 10, if the proposed changes go through, officials said.
Parents said Riviera Beach, which has a listed enrollment of 263, would be the hardest hit elementary school.
“We feel that there are other areas where money can be pulled from, not our teaching staff,” Zerbe said. “Isn?t our children?s education worth it?
“What does our education hold if we can?t provide our children with a decent education?”
Zerbe?s son, Jacob, a fourth-grader, also expressed displeasure with the proposal.
“You are wrong to take four teachers from us,” he said.
“Why are you doing this to us?”
Elizabeth Aquino, a first-year teacher at Riviera Beach, said she was one of the targeted teachers who might have to move next year.
“It saddens me that I have to find a new job after only a year,” she said.
“It?s one of those jobs: You?re always going to need teachers, and it?s never going to change.”
Halfway through the public comment period, Superintendent Kevin Maxwell explained the reasoning behind the controversial decision.
“We made what we felt was an austere budget request to the County Council,” said Maxwell. “The county executive has extreme power when it comes to the budget process in this county.”
Board member Eugene Peterson also had strong words.
“We are as fervent and supportive of the budget in the county as the superintendent,” he said.
“We will do everything we can do make this work. That?s our job.”
