I am a senior at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Listening to many different people’s thoughts and opinions about the makeup day on Feb. 14 makes me upset.
On Jan. 14 the teachers of the Marysville School District had a walkout day – not a strike. The teachers were not going against their contracts because it was approved by the school district, and they were told that the day would have to be made up. According to the teachers’ contract and calendars provided by the school district, all makeup days will be made up after the regular school year on June 16. In my business law class I learned that contracts are legal binding documents. How can the Marysville School District legally force employees to come to school on a non-school day?
These teachers went to Olympia on Jan. 14 to bring to Gov. Locke’s attention the needs of education. Not only were they down there because of the need for a cost of living raise, but primarily because they need to have smaller class sizes. Many classes at the high school are overcrowded with 30 or more students. Elementary schools are even more affected. Having 28 to 30 students in a classroom is way too much to ask teachers to handle and effectively teach.
The Marysville School District has many financial difficulties. Schools do not have enough money to make necessary copies for students. There are not enough textbooks in classrooms for students to use. From these problems, one would imagine that the school district would be using all available money on necessary supplies for students. Instead there have been many letters sent home to both students’ families and district employees regarding Feb. 14.
The slogan of the district is “Together for children.” Are the school board and the superintendent really working “together” with teachers and the community for us?
Marysville-Pilchuck High School
Marysville
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