Staff Editorial
Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale announced that the Manhattan Beach Unified School District will no longer provide funds for ink cartridges for teacher use within classrooms. Because administration did not initially communicate with teachers effectively about the ink cartridge decision, the administration’s solution proved ineffective for funding other items and decreasing paper usage.
The district previously spent $5,000 to $10,000 of Parent Teacher Student Association funds on classroom ink cartridges, PTSA co-presidents Dolly Boden and Robyn St. Germain said. Now, rather than receiving funding specifically for ink cartridges from the PTSA, teachers must purchase their own through methods such as using their $100 PTSA grants, using their department funds or using part of their PTSA wish list. Teachers can also print papers in the copy room free of charge.
The district is making this decision largely because it hopes to spend funds on items other than ink cartridges, such as technology, Dale said. He also hopes it will help teachers become more conscientious about their paper usage, as he estimates that the copy room has used over 24 million pieces of paper over the past four years. Both the budgetary and environmental reasonings for this decision are reasonable and necessary for the school.
However, due to the fact that the PTSA funds for ink are minimal, they will not be very effective in providing the adequate funds for technology since high-technology utilities often cost over $1,000 alone, English teacher Shawn Chen said. In addition, this new practice is unlikely to decrease paper usage as many teachers will most likely go to the copy room now to print their papers since the copy room covers their printing costs.
According to Chen, teachers use their PTSA wish list to request expensive items such as elmos and smartboards or items that are not required for the classroom but are vital in improving student learning. Since the wish list is traditionally used for classroom additions, teachers should not have to rely on this wish list to acquire necessary day-to-day items such as ink cartridges.
The district did not inform teachers of the new change before Dale’s email went out, Dale said. Considering that in a survey of 57 Costa teachers, 84% of the respondents is either unhappy with the new practice or believes that it is unfair, it is unjust and counterproductive for administration to implement change before consulting those who will be affected by it. Teachers are the ones most impacted by the new change, and, in order for any school to run smoothly, communication between administration and staff is essential.
The ink cartridge decision is ineffective in dealing with the administration’s monetary and environmental concerns, as teachers can still print the same number of papers at school, but through the copy room rather than through their classroom printers. The original ink cartridge funds are also not going to be effective in covering technology costs. Instead, the district should have opened communication with teachers from the start in order to develop a more cohesive and effective decision.
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