By Steven Piper
Editorial Intern
It is white, made from trees, makes great airplanes, and is in dwindling supply at Long Beach’s Jackie Robinson Academy. In response to state budget cuts, the administration at the combined elementary and middle school has decided to reduce the amount of paper it consumes.
Teachers are using new paper-saving strategies, such as shrinking the size of text on worksheets to maximize the amount of information on a single sheet of paper. Seventh grade student Mayra Gomez said the small text makes learning harder, especially in pre-algebra. “Well, it is kind of hard to do. It is hard to count on the x and y axes when it is so small,” she said. “Sometimes we have only half sheets of paper.”
Shrinking the text on worksheets, however, is not the only strategy used to reduce paper consumption. Seventh grader Dylan Payne said extra time is spent copying assignments onto their own paper. “Well, we do some worksheets, otherwise we have to use our own paper,” he said. Payne said the best way to get more paper would be to have more fundraisers and donations.
In addition to lessening the amount of paper consumed, the school has also cut two faculty members, a literacy coach and one office assistant.
Connie Granieri, school facilitator and teacher, explained that the administration decides how the cuts will be implemented and that paper consumption was one area in which they thought they could reduce spending. “We have been looking for different ways to get paper.” Granieri said. “But it is still difficult.”
Despite the collection of monetary and paper donations from students and community members, the principal of Jackie Robinson Academy, Stephanie Jones, said there is no shortage of paper and “we have as much paper as we need.” She explained that since the state is in a budget crisis, the administration is trying to be “fiscally aware” by conserving paper. She also said teachers can request and receive more paper whenever they need it.
Jones said she has not heard any reports of decreasing student performance and said that the quality of education remains the same. “We are just trying to be appropriate,” she said.
The PTA has helped out during the tough economic times by providing extra paper when they can. Spanish and computer teacher Richard Marengo said the PTA has already provided him with a ream of paper. “They went out and bought reams of paper themselves,” Marengo said. “It was a really nice gesture they made.”
According to Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) President Joy Mendoza, Robinson’s PTA consists of about 60 members who are mostly volunteers and has an annual budget of $10,000. Since September, the association has contributed 4,000 volunteer hours. “Other PTAs in better neighborhoods generate more money! They raise hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Mendoza said. “We generate more volunteer hours.” She said it is hard to compete with wealthier schools, considering the demographic of the Wrigley neighborhood where Jackie Robinson Academy is located.
“The purpose of PTA is to educate parents and support legislation in favor of the kids!fundraising is beyond what we are supposed to do,” Mendoza said.
Math and science teacher Albert Licano voiced similar concerns regarding the disparity between different schools’ PTAs. “It (the PTA) is there. It is very supportive but we cannot compete with the larger east-side schools,” he said. “We cannot compete with the PTAs from other schools, like Rogers or Stanford.” According to Licano, parents from wealthier areas and with higher incomes are able to donate more money to their students’ schools.
Tom Huff, principal of Rogers Middle School in Belmont Shore, said he is feeling the “sting” of the state budget cuts even though the school has not had to reduce paper consumption yet. “We are very fortunate to have a PTA that is supportive. That is a big plus,” Huff said. He also said the school has had to lay off an office assistant and two noon supervisors because of the budget cuts.
The PTA president for Rogers, Elaine Del Bello, said their association has an annual budget of $40,000. The funds are used to pay for items ranging from new computers to student orientations and, more recently, field trips to Medieval Times in Buena Park for seventh graders studying history.
Del Bello said the school has been leery of accepting the PTA’s money because it is technically not supposed to be a “fundraising machine;” the collection and use of money from the private sector, she noted, however, is contradictory to the principles of a public education. “We don’t have any sponsors but we have some businesses who have contributed goods, services, or money throughout the year,” Del Bello said.
