Las Vegas NowTeachers, Students Lament Classroom Budget Problems

Teachers, Students Lament Classroom Budget Problems

Weapons found on campus, violence near schools and now some fear safety will be worse with more budget cuts.

With teachers already digging into their own pockets to pay for classroom supplies, and students already sharing textbooks, many are wondering what other sacrifices will they be forced to make.

Students in a freshman English class at Rancho High aren't just reading about how tough times were in the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, most are also living through harsh financial times at home and at school.

"With seven kids at home, we have to pay attention to what we're eating now," said Kendall Reynolds. "Now the teachers are having to buy their own copy paper."

But digging into his own pockets to pay for school supplies is nothing new for Rancho High teacher John Struzik. He's more worried about how future cuts will impact the 3,700 plus students already attending a school built to handle only 2,600.

"Safety is a huge concern," he said.

Struzik says Rancho currently has only four campus security monitors roaming the two-story facility. Teachers routinely give up their prep times just to be an extra set of eyes scouting the campus for potential trouble.

22 portables are already being used on the brand new school site. Teachers already share classrooms and students already share textbooks. Additional budget cuts could make Rancho's current overcrowding problem even worse

"You'll see classrooms here right now with 50 or more students in them. Our average is always in the 40's," said Struzik. "There's always crowd control and discipline issues."

Reynolds says he worries most about the stress the cuts would put on his teachers, not just because he likes them, but because he knows all too well that it all trickles down, "It's just going to go downhill from there."

Another concern is a lack of technology in the classroom. Teachers wonder how they're supposed to prepare students for the digital age and the global economy when budget cuts prevent them from even getting a broken classroom computer fixed.