Dear editor,

I am writing this letter to you because I have some concerns on the budget cuts that have occurred recently. These cuts have affected many people around the country, but where it has the most impact is California. This has impacted schools and jobs across the state. Students and workers are suffering because there is no money, so students don’t have the supplies and activities they need to help them learn, and workers end up losing their jobs because the jobs don’t have enough money to pay them, so they get laid off. You are cutting out summer programs, sports, music, and art programs as well as physical education from kindergarten to 12th grade as well as in community colleges and universities. Community centers are being shut down, and that has an impact on the youth, especially the youth in the inner-city. And that is not right because for some youth those activities are the only way they can escape certain circumstances going on in their households or neighborhoods. So now that all of these activities have been cut, expect for the crime rate to rise tremendously. This also plays a part in people getting paid off from their jobs because now there will be a tremendous increase in the crime rate because people are going to do whatever it takes to take care of their families.

Cutting activities like summer programs, music, art, and physical education out of schools leaves the young students at a loss. It affects how the students learn in class because teachers are getting laid off and classes are increasing to over 30 students per class. Not having the money to buy new equipment can have an affect on how students learn because when a school doesn’t have enough money they can’t afford to buy new equipment, and that leaves the students to use the old equipment. For example, students at an L.A. school were issued a survey and they were asked about the lack of supplies. From the students who have taken the survey, most of them said that they have to share textbooks because they don’t have enough, they don’t have enough computers, or enough paper for their assignments so they have to copy from the overhead. Not only is that not right, but now you have to pay for certain activities in school, that are usually free. For instance, on the same survey it asked if anybody had to pay for activities at school. Majority answered yes and said they had to pay for field trips, lab fees for science, the music program, art supplies, and sports uniforms. That is outrageous; students shouldn’t have to pay to play. I believe that those things should be provided to for the students without pay.

Budget cuts are so bad now that it is not only affecting K-12 anymore, but it is affecting colleges and college students all over the country. Schools are starting to raise their tuition and officials are saying that they had to decrease their enrollment by ten percent due to the lack of money. More schools are threatening to shut down, because they don’t have enough money. Not only are the cuts affecting education, but they are affecting jobs as well. According to experts, in L.A. 14% of the residents are unemployed. More and more businesses are starting to lay off people because of the lack of money.

I believe this has to change because at the end of the day the youth are being affected. The reason why is that when kids don’t have anything to do, they tend to get into trouble and when you lay people off, that is affecting families tremendously because people can’t provide for their families, leaving the youth at a loss. For example in Chicago during the month of August, there were 55 murders of young teens. I also believe that we should put the money into schools and not into wars and things of that nature, because the youth is our future and one day they will be doctors, lawyers and presidents and they need all the supplies and resources to be successful.

Sincerely,

Devontae Anderson