Demoralized

The steam went out of all of us when our district started with massive layoffs.  I didn't get a pink slip (because they can't cut math out of the curriculum), but it's demoralizing nonetheless. Our school board and district administration handled it badly, and took no responsibility for the awful way they went about it, giving out pink slips to last year's District Teacher of the year with over 20 years of service, and some teachers with over 30 years.  These were good teachers, loyal teachers, teachers whom the kids love too.  So both staff and students have lost a bit of momentum and hope.  Some of my colleagues will be gone next year, class sizes will be bigger, and we're losing essential programs like music and art.  One of the school board members shed tears over having to cut ANYTHING from the athletics budget.  She didn't mind so much firing teachers or cramming 50% more K-3 kids in classrooms next year.  But threaten the football program, and the tears flow.  This clueless and inept school board member (she's a waitress in her day job) proposed reducing the cut to athletics to 5% instead of 20%.  She tearfully talked about how "sports changes lives!"  Another (more sane and educated) board member reminded her that "EDUCATION changes lives".  They ended up cutting the already huge athletics budget by only 11 or 12 percent; which means they'll have to take the difference from somewhere else. They cut the 6th grade music and marching band program completely; one of the teachers for that program spoke and said they were cutting music at the roots--if they don't introduce it early, they'll lose a lot of kids.  Who's gonna play the fight songs at those football games?  

Certainty