The 3 Worst Budget Cuts Schools Often Make

Educators have often struggled with achieving a pedagogically appropriate environment against the tide of what state standards and budgets allow. Here are just a few common losses due to budget cuts that are impacting millions of students in the United States every day.

1. Field Trips

Experiences working and visiting with people and places from outside of the school environment are among the most memorable any of us can recall when reflecting on our own years in education. And current educational theory agrees; the most effective education stems from real world applications in which students learn organically as a result of their school work. This approach has been proven to be highly motivating. This is also completely opposed to common practices in classrooms, which often have it backwards and require learning as a means of finishing assignments which are completely irrelevant to students’ personal lives and communities. But with budget cuts limiting the field trips students can take, opportunities for teachers to provide these field experiences are dwindling.

2. The Arts

The first thought for many as soon as “budget cuts” is uttered is art curriculum. As a member of a shoestring-budget high school band growing up in West Virginia, I can attest to how damaging budget cuts can be to the arts. And my situation as a teenager was relatively fortunate, given that many school have chosen to abandon the arts altogether in districts with harsh financial woes. The implication by budgeters who chose to axe these programs is that the arts are relatively unimportant because they can’t be tested – which is sadly a fair concern with the test-obsessed “No Child Left Behind” biting at our heels. What makes this loss particularly bothersome is that years of research verifies the worth of the arts time and time again to educational performance; they result in improved “academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity.”

3. Teachers

Job losses in school communities are by far the greatest blow to our pursuit of successful public education. Studies, teachers, and parents have confirmed that smaller classroom communities are better at fostering interpersonal skills among students, motivating students in group activities, and allowing teachers to pay more invaluable personal attention to each student. From a budgeters standpoint, cutting a teacher’s job and distributing student load makes sense in saving precious funds while preserving other programs and commodities in the budget. But there is no resource more valuable than the teachers serving our schools, and overloading classes with more students gives remaining teachers less time to individuate their teaching methods for each pupil.

While making budget cuts is hardly ever an easy decision for administrators, these are three crucial elements to our nation’s students. Cutting them is a compromise that will doubtlessly impact the future of our students. If your or child’s school is considering making cuts in any of these resources, I strongly recommend getting involved in school meetings, or writing a letter to your school board. We owe it to our children; we should never allow financial decisions to compromise the efficiency of our educational system.

James Anderson is a freelance writer who blogs about educational and business-related topics. When not writing, he enjoys the great outdoors by camping and hunting. He currently writes for School Lockers, a storage locker provider.