Ask any kid what their favorite subject is and ten out of ten times they will respond, “P.E., recess, and lunch!”

Especially, in elementary school, physical education (better known as P.E.) is a time in the student’s day where running, screaming, and throwing balls around are cheered on instead of frowned upon. P.E. is the class where they are able to get all their bound energy out, putting it toward learning to love or hate a sport, figuring out exercising doesn’t have to be boring, or just letting the kids have something to look forward when coming to school. Young children who gets their heart pumping  helps them live a physical and active life. Hazelwood school district is cutting 25 teachers, cutting back on P.E., and cutting back on band and orchestra. This massive budget cut will be cutting $six million across the district. These cuts aren’t just cutting money but cutting future student’s success.

Elementary school is the time in a young child’s life where they are trying to figure out what they enjoy doing. Learning music is one of those things, it helps with almost every aspect of someone’s life, especially a young childs. When a first grader picks up an instrument, he’s basically picking up the key to a successful life, but now at Hazlewood that dream is slashed right down the middle. According from Michael Matthews a music director at  effectivemusicteaching.com, Learning an instrument helps one to be more organized, better at math, reading improvement, and relieves stress, those are just barely scratching the surface of how beneficial music is to a student’s life. Also, at elementary school age the students brian are more elastic which enable them to pick things up fast. It is the time of their life where they should have the opportunity to play the violin, cello, flute or bass. Parkway school district has a program, where everybody in third grade is required to go to orchestra and learn violin, then the next years you are able to choose what instrument you would like to play. Without that opportunity many students, me, included would never have found an interest in music, because of it I played the cello. The Hazelwood students will never get that opportunity because the supers are being selfish and “care more of their paychecks then the students.”

The Hazelwood district is struggling because  the 2014-15 collection of property taxes was $15.7 million less than 2008-09, because property values have been on the decline over the past years. Also, the district offered a 2.5 percent raise for teachers this 2015-16 year, which they said they wanted to keep competitive pay so the best teachers would still teach within the school, so that has impacted their budgeting problem. The school board released a statement, “Our teachers are very important to us and we value their service to our students. Unfortunately, our school district is challenged with a $9.2 million deficit,” Then according to St.Louis Post Dispatch, ”more than a dozen teachers told the board that it is hard to keep good teachers when salaries keep slipping.” Along with the cuts to teachers they are also cutting $900,000 from the administrative offices, which is what they should do.

Elliot Davis a Fox 2 reporter who specializes on a segment entitled ‘You Paid For It’ barged into a public school board meeting. He was confronting the president of the board about the cuts, yet he was thrown out. Hazelwood claims they are putting the students first, thankful for Elliot Davis we know that it’s a load of crap. The superintendent makes $220,000, following with six other assistant superintendents making anywhere from $117,000 to $190,000. Two Curriculum Coordinators,  being paid $110,166 and $106,405, Supplemental Assignments gets paid $127,0000 and then a job entitled, “At Risk” gets paid $130,000. Schools are about teaching children. It’s about the student and these cuts are impacting the student’s education. The district should be cutting less away from the students and more from the inner workings of the school.

It is not fair for students to be left out of public education amenities  due to not enough money. What do they expect little balls of energy to do during the day? Sit in a hard plastic chair? The little rascals need P.E. and this year over 850 Hazelwood elementary schoolers are enrolled in band and orchestra. So what next year they will just quit and lose all of the skill they developed? Right now most of the elementary schools have two P.E. teachers but as of the cut there will only be one which drastically cuts back how much time the students will have to participate. Hazlewood says that they will still get the Missouri requirement of P.E. (which in my opinion is an awfully low amount), only 2.5 hours a week for elementary schoolers.

These budget cuts are cutting out all of the fun experiences normally students get be involved in! Not only is P.E. and music getting cut off but they are eliminating field trips. Now, for just a second close your eyes and think of the joys of school. Was it sitting doing math and reading? Or was it jumping out of bed the morning on a cool sunny day and taking a bus with your classmates down to the Zoo? Of course, the majority of everyone would chose the latter, but now the students in Hazelwood won’t get to experience the joy of field trips. Some students, if it wasn’t for school would otherwise never get to go visit the Art Museum, Science Center, do outdoor learning at Castlewood, or gaze at the animals in the Zoo.

Hazlewood stated, “Our student achievement has been increasing the last several years and we plan on that continuing,” Hazelwood Schools C.F.O. Dwight Lindhorst said.  “So we’re trying to eliminate those things that affect students the least.” Well they’re already eliminating any of the fun that was squeezed into school. Next thing Hazelwood will cut back on crayons and students will have to color with their #2 Dixon Ticonderoga.