Community member, Andrew Matlock wrote a great letter to the editor in this week's News Mirror...take a look:
Budget cuts should not affect students
In its latest cost cutting effort, the YCJUSD has decided to raise the thermostats in classrooms throughout the district so that the air conditioning does not come on until the temperature reaches 78 degrees.
Now I don't know when the last time you were in a small classroom with 30-35 students during a heat wave, but it makes for an unbearable situation that is in no way conducive to effective learning.
To make matters worse, state testing, the benchmark by which schools are judged, is scheduled to begin soon and suffice it to say, taking a series of tests in excruciating heat will probably not lead to high scores.
However, the most troubling aspect of this situation arose last week when I attended a school board meeting. Apparently the temperature in the board room is not regulated as district officials lowered the thermostat not once, but twice during the meeting to ensure the temperature remained in the low 70s.
Now while no one will argue the blame for the current budget crisis facing schools throughout the state lies solely with politicians in Sacramento, one has to question the leadership of this district when it continually looks to cut programs and costs closest to the classroom and students instead of those furthest from the classroom.
And I can think of no place further from the classroom, both literally and figuratively, than a district office board room.
It is time for this district to actually make a positive difference in the life of each child instead of just saying it does in a mission statement.
Andrew Matlock
Calimesa
How do you feel? You can send a follow up letter to:
cteeters@newsmirror.net
or write The News Mirror at:
Yucaipa News Mirror
35154 Yucaipa Blvd.
Yucaipa, CA 92399
Feel free to post your own comments and observations here.
