Schools need resources to be successful
In Yuma County today, there are close to 40,000 students enrolled in our K-12 schools. Youth who are planning for the future; setting the stage for career, family and civic life. It might be easy to dismiss their education as someone else’s problem, but how well our schools are performing — and how well they’re funded — impact everyone in the region. Education is the gateway to a brighter future. Youth who are well-educated are less likely to face unemployment, less likely to need government assistance and more likely to have the kind of job that will provide them a livable wage, stable access to health care and upward mobility. When our schools succeed, Yuma succeeds.
In Phoenix, our elected legislators are hard at work drafting the state’s budget. Do you believe that our schools should be a priority? Because we do.
Funding education is an investment in our children, our community and our future. Better schools can help communities reduce crime, stabilize property values, attract new business and thrive.
But schools are facing an uphill battle to ensure that students have the skills they need to thrive. While Yuma County celebrates one of the highest college enrollment rates in the state at 65 percent, over 25 percent of students at Arizona Western College had to enroll in remediation courses. One reason our kids may not be graduating high school prepared is the teacher shortage. Today, schools in the Yuma region struggle to fill teaching positions with qualified candidates. Though this is a problem that schools all over Arizona face, it is especially pronounced in rural border communities. And it takes its toll — having a highly effective teacher in the classroom is one of the biggest factors in a student’s success. What we need are well-trained, enthusiastic educators working to better our youth. In order to do that, schools must be able to provide the competitive compensation and support every teacher deserves.
Even basic classroom tools are in short supply. In our tech-centric society, many assume that paper and pencil aren’t a priority, and that students are tackling their assignments on the latest gadget. In fact, schools still rely heavily on paper-based work. For instance, did you know that most of our teachers have a monthly allotment of paper? Instead of creating plans based on what’s best for kids’ learning, they’re anxiously counting sheets and waiting until a new month begins so that they can once again make copies.
Because school-provided supplies aren’t always enough, the Foundation of Yuma Regional Medical Center organizes an annual event to enlist assistance from our citizens. You might have seen the recent summer supply drive, where we raised more than $77,000 to provide backpacks and supplies to area students. But these are all resources that our schools should be able to afford without the help of local residents.
Capital funding — or the dollars that schools use to maintain buildings and purchase durable goods, such as desks — has dropped significantly since the recession began. School leaders are having a hard time keeping our buildings running efficiently. While there are those around the country discussing potential safety upgrades, some of our schools aren’t even able to maintain what they have.
Do you know where your elected leaders stand on education? As our legislators discuss the upcoming year’s budget, where will your representatives stand on issues such as additional financial assistance for district and charter schools that need it most; money for building new schools and maintaining the ones we have; and restoring funding for career and technical education and community colleges.
If these issues are important to you, then they should be important to your lawmakers. Let them know how you feel. Remind them that schools need a long-term solution for education funding so that district leaders can plan for the future to address student needs and strengthen our community.
The Yuma Education Advocacy Council is a local collaboration between community leaders and Expect More Arizona to advance a shared vision for education in Yuma and the state. We all believe that every child deserves an excellent education — every step of the way. Together, we will elevate priority education issues to support educators, schools and students in our community and beyond. Find the Council on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YEACAZ/.