An Oklahoma teacher’s account of her school district, from the classrooms without desks and supplies to the professors who hold office hours in their cars

In my Oklahoma high school classroom, it is not easy to tell where federal funding ends and state funding begins – in fact, most teachers don’t have a clue about where our funding comes from. But what is abundantly clear is that our schools need more funding.

Unless you are in a school every day, you might not see the results of underfunding education. That is because we open our doors no matter what, and my colleagues and I will do everything we can to make sure our students get the education they deserve. But just because the consequences are invisible doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. Isn’t that the definition of privilege? Thinking something isn’t a problem simply because it might not be a problem for you?

You have probably heard about the recent teacher walkout in Oklahoma. While some of that was about teacher salaries, it was more about the conditions in our schools – conditions that resulted from years of underfunding education.

The Oklahoma City public schools district is the largest in the state, serving about 46,000 students. Because of relentless decreases in funding from the Oklahoma legislature, our district has had to cut almost $40m in the past two years. This has resulted in our fine arts budgets being slashed by 50%, our library media budgets being completely eliminated and district officials being forced to end the school year days early.

Our school system also has 58 classrooms that are “split-level”. This means a teacher is required to teach two different curricula to two different grade levels at the same time in the same classroom. And our teachers do this without the help of a teaching assistant.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Oklahoma teachers strike made significant gains, but politicians refused to fully fund schools. Now, the fight moves to November: electing representatives that support public education.

I am a proud general at US Grant high school. We have the best administrators, the most dedicated teachers and amazing students. But we are struggling. Our building is only 10 years old, but it was built for 1,200 people. We currently have 2,000 students and 160 staff members.

Our classes are extremely overcrowded, with 30 and 40 students per class. Some of us don’t even have enough desks for our students to sit in. Coach Aaron McVay, one of our PE teachers, has had classes of more than 80 students. How much learning happens in a class of 80?

Some teachers don’t even have classrooms. They keep their belongings, textbooks and supplies on carts and push them from classroom to classroom, hour to hour. I have been a traveling teacher. Like some of our fellow union members who are adjunct college professors and hold “office hours” in their cars and nurses who travel from school to school, fingers crossed, hoping no one at a school across town will suffer a health crisis, it is almost impossible to be an effective educator while carting your work around.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Melissa Smith: ‘I urge Congress to build on last year’s good start, reject spending cuts to education and provide much more funding for our schools.’ Photograph: Melissa Smith/AFT Voices

None of the teachers I asked could remember the last time we adopted new textbooks. Our current history textbook, The Story of Oklahoma, is so old that the Oklahoma City bombing only gets a couple of pages in the epilogue.

It’s OK, though. We only have about 60 copies for our 600-plus freshmen, so the teachers have to create their own resource packets anyway. During the walkout, when photos of our beat-up and duct-taped textbooks started appearing in the media, one student told us: “I didn’t realize that people had textbooks with covers on them.”

The cut that hurt most was losing our two maintenance workers, Gerald and Joe, whose positions were eliminated when our district was forced to cut the first $30m in 2017. Gerald and Joe kept our building running. Without them, nothing seems to work. Last August, we had days without air conditioning. It was common for my classroom to reach 90 degrees by 9am. In fact, Cristina Moershel taught her class outside because it was cooler there than in her classroom. Outside. In August. In Oklahoma. She used a dry erase marker on the window to teach calculus while her students sat on the ground.

Our current history textbook is so old that the Oklahoma City bombing only gets a couple of pages in the epilogue

Now, think about how much these problems would be exacerbated if some of this year’s proposed cuts to federal funding were to go through.

Cuts would make it impossible to retain qualified teachers instead of losing them at the rate of almost 400 per month. If there are cuts to federal programs for low-income students or students with disabilities, what else will my school have to sacrifice to provide the services they need? How will these cuts help students graduate and take on the world?

Yes, teachers will continue to work miracles with the few resources we’re given and the huge obstacles in our path. But imagine the improvements for students that could result from additional education funding. Up to date textbooks. Professional development for teachers and support staff to help us improve instruction. Air conditioning. Smaller classes so every student can get more personalized attention – and maybe a desk for them to sit in.

In their latest appropriations bill, our representatives in Congress did move in the right direction by providing an increase to federal education programs. Even so, it hasn’t made up for years of underfunding, particularly in special education services and Title I programs for children in poverty. I’m here to tell you that those decisions do make a difference for our students. I urge Congress to build on last year’s good start, reject spending cuts to education and provide much more funding for our schools.

Melissa Smith is the criminal justice teacher, student council adviser, senior class sponsor and Link Crew coordinator at US Grant high school in Oklahoma City, and a member of the Oklahoma City AFT.

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