Education cuts and teacher burnout
New education data from the National Assn. of State Budget Officers estimates cuts to K-12 spending could reach $2.5 billion this year. Nationally, they were slashed $1.8 billion in 2010. The news is even worse for higher education. Those budgets are expected to decrease by $5 billion this year; that's after they were down by $1.2 billion in 2010.
To compensate, most school districts limit or eliminate money for art and music programs, libraries, adult education and textbooks. Schools with high numbers of minority or low-income students are often hit hardest.
Teachers are also laid off, which places more strain on the teachers who remain. Ellie Herman, a teacher at a South Los Angeles high school, described the challenge she faces in Sunday's Op-Ed pages:
The class, one of five I teach each day, has 31 students, including two with learning