Schools
Batavia Parents Talk Taxes, Class Sizes, Kindergarten At School Board Event
Parents shared what they think is most important for their students in Batavia Public Schools. Here's what they had to say.
About 30 Batavia residents went before officials on Tuesday night to discuss issues that directly affect their children.
The group, which consisted of mostly moms, came to the Batavia School Board’s first listening post. The event lasted just over 90 minutes at on the city's west side.
Although community members were invited to voice opinions on four broad topics, reccurring issues included the economy, class size and extracurricular activities. Overall, it gave people a chance to talk to the school board.
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Board members hope that people continue to voice concerns no matter what, School Board President Ron Link said.
“You are one of our most important stakeholders,” he said. “In turn, we want to hear everything you have to say, good, bad and ugly.”
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School leaders in Batavia and many other districts continue to grapple with ever-increasing costs such as salaries and health care in their budgets.
Board members earlier this year approved , including increased class sizes, reducing the Elementary Spanish program and suspending the Building Trades program.
Impact of A Sluggish Economy
Taxes and the impact of the economy were both sensitive issues Tuesday evening. Lynn Smola, a parent, spoke openly about them.
“All people see is the cuts, and they just assume it’s a negative impact on the kids,” Smola said. “Is it? I don’t know. But we need to focus on long-term goals.”
And decreasing deficit, while lowering taxes, is one of Smola’s goals.
“We’re 2.4 million dollars in the hole,” she said, referring to the school district's budget deficit. “We have to do something about it. … We just need to think of a different way of going about it."
Smola said parents are reluctant to see changes in the schools, but the reality is that changes are needed.
"My husband lost his job—I can’t afford to pay more taxes, but I can’t afford to move. And I’m not the only person who is affected by the economy.”
But Frank Gondorchin, father to a Hoover Wood School kindergartner, said he’s concerned that lowering taxes means cutting programs for students, including the specials for kindergarten students.
“To me, neglecting our children is not worth $70 (a month),” he said. “We have a great school system. I think we need to invest in it as a community. … We, as a community, need to look at what the real impact would be (if we raised taxes).”
Class Sizes Too Large?
With large classes and limited teacher resources, community members were concerned about the impact on students.
“Thirty-one kids in one classroom isn’t benefiting anyone, whether it’s in music or in math,” said Lynn Smola who has young children in the district.
As a parent and kindergarten teacher in a nearby district, Holly Herman agreed.
“That’s just too much to expect any teacher to handle those kids and still impact those kids,” she said. “Keeping class sizes small has the absolute impact on the students.”
Other parents pointed out the effect of large classes on any student.
“Middle school and high school, don’t give up on them just because they can take care of themselves and wipe their own noses,” Christine Breiten said. “They need smaller class sizes too.”
Fine Arts Important to Students Development
Parents agreed that students need fine arts classes from kindergarten through senior year, to help teach culture and to cater to all students.
“I know it’s hard to be all things to all people, but we need to really encourage the kids as they’re wired,” said Marcia Swift, whose son is involved in the fine arts program.
And those music, fine arts and foreign language classes are helping the students prepare for college, said Elaine Mainzinger of the Batavia Music Buffs. And BHS music instructors are preparing students for that.
“Music is a curricular activity. It’s not extracurricular,” she said. “ is doing a lot for those (music) students under the budget strain.”
But with , Herman said she’s concerned about the future of those fine arts programs.
“I worry that this is where it’s starting, by for kindergartners,” she said.
And parents agreed—it comes down to helping those students succeed by the time they graduate high school.
“For me, the most important thing is for the kids to feel like superstars,” Breiten said. “They need to leave here feeling like they were successful at something.”
