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Irene Duong
Sustainability
11/15/2013

Defining Sustainability: Social Justice on Education

Each year a significant amount of school programs are being cut, whether partially or
altogether due to the lack of state funding; educators are facing the brutal impact of these budget
cuts. Already, an estimated 294,000 jobs in the education sector have been lost since 2008,
including those in higher education (Hefling, 2011). The state funds provides the transportation,
textbooks, training, and other education spending and because of the budget cuts students are
required to pay-to-ride, unable to have the necessary textbooks for the given subject, and
teachers are not properly trained to teach a course; it only gets worst from there as more cuts are
made throughout the year. What exactly are the impacts of budget cuts on programs pertaining
education if the funds are provided for another social use such as agriculture? Understanding the
disadvantages of lack of education provides the insight of how many people itll affect,
especially the students, and the impact it will have in the future; after all, the children are our
future. Budget cuts targets many areas in the educational field and the type of cut depends on
what is most cost effective for the economy. Sustaining the state funds by taking away certain
programs that are significant in a students education and the necessary tools for learning is a
social prejudice not only for the students and educators but businesses as well.
Budget cuts have already reduced the number of days students are required to go to
school in order to make school more cost effective. Over 120 districts nationally have gone to a
four-day school week just to save on transportation and utility costs; this includes not buying the
necessary textbooks and technology for the school programs and not training the teachers to
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effectively teach the courses to the students (Hefling, 2011). These cuts have forced school
districts to lay off teachers and other staff employees while those who are fortunately to keep
their jobs have a reduce in their pay. Teachers and other staff members lose the motivation to
teach the students not only because of low pay but the lack of materials needed to teach them.
The deficiencies in supplies are due to the district cancelling the contracts with suppliers and
other businesses (Oliff, Mai, & Leachman, 2012). These effects of budget cuts has not only
limited students on their education and resources but also taken hundreds of thousands of jobs
away from teachers and other staff employees. Students, in this generation, depend on
technology search engines and textbooks to find sources to learn. Books are essential for
learning, whether its a textbook or a novel; students need to read in order to learn about a
subject. Teachers need to be trained to teach students how to read, how to find sources, and how
to use them effectively. Its incredibly difficult for a single teacher to teach a class for 40
students while attempting to work with them individually. Budget cuts has a large influence on
what is taught in the school and what is provided because it limits the programs and tools that are
given. This eventually causes the school district to resort to either implementing fees to do
certain activities or removing them because cutting off programs and teachers just isnt enough.
Schools have been forced to cut important programs for students and/or placing a fee just
to participate. Students are now required to pay to ride transportation because the school doesnt
have enough funds to provide for the passes, not only that, students are required to pay a fee to
play sports or after-school programs (Herling, 2011). Other districts removed the after-school
programs, cut field trips, P.E classes, and literacy classes for struggling readers, and Spanish for
sixth- and seventh-graders (Herling, 2011). Students, as children, should have a program that
allows them to exercise, such as P.E because ten percent of the worlds school-aged children are
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estimated to be carrying excess body fat (Lobstein, 2004). Sports and P.E provides the form of
exercise the children need but by cutting or implementing fees will cause the students to lose the
motivation to exercise because its either not there or they cant afford it. Students who struggle
with reading or want to learn a second language will suffer the same impact as those who cannot
participate in sports because there isnt a program that specializes in teaching them how. Lewin
T. and Dillon S. stated that surveys by the American Association of School Administrators had
found that 9 out of 10 superintendents expected to lay off teachers and staffs for the fall term
from the previous two out of three of last year, which is a significant increase in a short amount
of time. States will spend about $36 billion of the stimulus money in the next fiscal year,
leaving their budget short of some $144 billion About a quarter of all the state spending goes
to public schools (Lewin & Dillon, 2010). As state money becomes more limited, the more
schools will be impacted by the budget cuts thus limiting their programs and the teachers and
staffs that works there. Herling pointed out that the worst part is that: its not over. Recession
will continue to happen and budget cuts will follow up on it because its a problem that cant be
simply solved over a small time frame.
Businesses are also impacted by the budget cuts because if schools are cutting supplies
and resources it means theyll cancel contracts with businesses as well. These job losses shrink
the purchasing power of workers families, which in turn affects local businesses and slows
recovery (Oliff, Mai, & Leachman, 2012). The more teachers and staff that are cut from the
program, the less supplies the school district will need, which will become a problem for
businesses who depend on schools to buy their supplies in bulk. It may seem like budget cuts
affects only the school districts, but it affects businesses as well who had had contracts with
these schools. Sustaining education is a social justice issue because programs, resources and
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supplies, educators and other areas of the educational field are being impacted by the budget cuts
because everything is limited to a point and when it reaches that point, its going to get removed.
Students should be going to school full time, have the necessary resources and tools, and trained
teachers to teach them in their core classes on the given subject; nothing should be limited or
removed because it will affect how a student thinks in the future. You cant simply remove one
gear from a machine and expect it to function correctly, every part is needed and this goes for
students as well in terms of education.
Social prejudice can be portrayed in different aspects in the field of education, but it
nevertheless shows people that it can be an issue. Students need the proper materials and sources
to learn, teachers need the training to teach the students what they need to learn, businesses
depends on schools to buy their supplies and budget cuts can limit and take away those key
factors. Society wants to sustain the state funds and in order to do that theyll have to make
businesses more cost effective which has been aimed more directly at schools. The issue now is
that the school days are being reduced, teachers and staffs are losing their jobs, students are
lacking required textbooks and technology, programs are being cut and removed, more
importantly, students are having to pay for transportation and sport participation because the
district cant provide it with their given funds. Students make the future and if they were to go
out into the world with limited knowledge then problems regarding the economy would either
worsen or add on. The solution to this issue, budget cuts and recessions, isnt simple or easy, and
as Herling pointed out, its not over yet. Budget cuts is one of the main social justice issue
because people want to sustain the funds that they are limited to, but at the same time, they are
taking away the most important thing a person needs; education.

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References

Hefling, K. (2011). School Budget Cuts: Educators Fear Deepest Cuts Are Ahead. The
Huffington Post.


Johnson, N., Oliff, P., & Williams, E. (2011). An Update on State Budget Cuts. Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities.


Lewin, T., & Dillon, S. (2010). Districts Warn of Deeper Teacher Cuts. The New York Times


Lobstein, T., Baur, L. and Uauy, R. (2004), Obesity in children and young people: a crisis in
public health. Obesity Reviews, 5: 485.


Oliff, P., Mai, C., & Leachman, M. (2012). New School Year Brings More Cuts in State Funding
for Schools. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.