Matt Wah
Staff Writer
Ever since the beginning of the economic recession, it has been difficult to find and retain a job. Ever since the education systems in California have received a budget cut, Mira Costa’s history teacher Annie Choi and english teachers Quincy Howerton and Lauren Thomson gave their opinions on the subject. Each of the three received a pink slip at the end of the 2008-09 year and were called back to teach.
Most of the job losses were due to the nation wide budget cuts, forcing some classes and programs to be dropped. Because the budget cut was imminent, the pink slip was not far and some first year teachers anticipated the endangerment of their job.
“I just hoped for the best. I was relying upon the school district to come through with the jobs. However, I did look into some other schools but it wasn’t a very serious search. I’m relieved that I was able to stay because after teaching at Costa for one year, I was acclimated to the great school environment. They did what they had to do. If there’s no money, then there’s no money,” Choi said.
Howerton also had views on the subject.
“I was expecting a pink slip, given that the budget was so bad and I was new to the school. So, I saw it coming. I had several plans to consider. One was to take a risk and go into the summer without another job lined up and hope that I got re-hired here. Another was to look for other positions over the summer and consider substitute teaching in area districts if I didn’t find a job. The third was Starbucks,” Howerton said.
Another project in question was measure BB. Plans have been made and the school will undergo major remodeling and renovation. However, some argue that the plan is siphoning money from the budget which could have been used elsewhere.
“I understand that some of the renovations are necessary because of blatant obsoleteness but I believe some projects don’t need to be done right now which could allow the district more funds to maybe save programs or teachers,” Choi said.
One of the classes that has been changed is Avid, taught by Lauren Thomson. Because of some changes that caused confusion among the students during their registration, certain measures have been taken.
“Avid is not being cancelled. At first it was cut, but then later brought back by a decision made over the summer. Grade levels were combined in order to accommodate the room capacity,” Thomson said.
Although times are tough for teaching and job searching, Thomson maintains a positive outlook on the teaching occupation.
“The difficulty of teaching comes in waves of changing opportunities. At times it is tough, but I definitely recommend teaching because it is fun, great, and interesting,” Thomson said.
Leave a Reply