In 2009, students wishing to further their education were shaken up by the announcement of mandatory furlough days for faculty and staff. According to California State University Employees Union, the agreement was to place full-time employees on a “temporary non-duty, non-pay status in order to lessen the severity of layoffs.” (CSUEU, 2010) This proposed furlough would allow jobs and resources to be saved. According to the Modesto Bee, “the furlough ended on June 30, 2010, saving $290 million and thousands of jobs.” (Fontana, 2010) Overall, the program might seem like a success, but the value of higher education diminished.
For a student who paid his way through college with his own sweat and dime, I was shocked when I heard that tuition was rising, and educators would not be as available to assist in bettering the education of students. This discouraged students and faculty alike. Students were not going to be given the opportunity to continue their education, and faculty could not teach those eager to learn. This educational furlough was not only felt at the collegiate level, but throughout the educational system as well.
Many educational professionals are stressing the need for increased class time, longer school years, better supplies, and more educators. According to the California Watch, this cry for help has been ignored. “Facing crushing budget deficits, districts throughout the state will cut as many as five days from the school calendar by granting teachers and other staff unpaid furlough days. Many districts also will eliminate days when students are not in the classroom that teachers have used for class preparation, staff training or parent conferences.”
In order to qualify for the U.S. Department of Education’s $3.5 billion school improvement grant, schools must improve their lowest performing schools with four improvement strategies. According to the Louis Freedberg of the California Watch, “Two of them would require expanding the school day, week or year as schools increase instructional time for core academic subjects.” (Freedberg, 2010) This would hamper any improvement that is made towards closing the gap in the budget. Aside from the monetary impact these furloughs would have on our educational system, the educational value would decrease. It would place California well below other countries around the world. “California's shorter school year will put the state even further behind nations such as South Korea, with 220 school days a year, and Switzerland, with 228. California students will find themselves [with] those in Kentucky, Maine and Missouri, where school years are 175 days long.” (Freedberg, 2010)
Do these furlough days and shortening of school allow students and educators to grow? If educators are adamant about improving the educational system in California, why has change been hampered when other special interest groups can propose legislature to allow sale of cigarettes near children? These questions do not have a clear-cut answer nor is the resolution for this budget like crystal. While improvements within our educational system are made to save money and improve the education of students, this fiscal crisis makes it exceptionally difficult to provide a superior education. Furloughs, albeit a temporary solution to an unexpected budget shortfall, are not the answer that educational professionals are looking for to resolve our faltering education system.
References:
CSUEU. (2010, July 19). Furlough Agreement FAQ. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from CSUEU: http://www.csueu.org/Home/BudgetCentral/FurloughsFAQ/tabid/928/Default.aspx
Fontana, C. (2010, 07 19). Furloughs over for schools in the CSU: Stan State calendar avoided headaches. Modesto Bee .
Freedberg, L. (2010, July 15). School year shrinking as budget crisis grows. California Watch .
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