My math textbook is from the 1990s, and the cover hangs halfway off. Some classes are so large it's difficult to ask questions and obtain help. I've witnessed a desk collapse under a classmate more than five times.
Rejection of the override may be the final straw. This year's graduating class has 280 students, but there are 350 in kindergarten. As hundreds of families move to Belmont for our excellent schools, something needs to give. It can't be the quality of our education.
The Belmont budget — which funds my education — has been chipped at for years. There is a point when the cuts reach too deep, when the effects become too severe and beyond repair. Belmont's per pupil spending is $1,772 below the state average, and our class sizes are above the state average. I have felt the impact. Imagine a discussion-based class that cannot have full class discussions because there are too many students.
Without an override, more than 20 teachers and aides will lose their jobs, and many more top teachers are fleeing. In all of our schools, we would add students but cut teachers. The entire eighth-grade arts program would be cut, along with high school electives such as Advanced Placement art, which has an incredible track record at placing students in top art colleges and careers. Advanced language study would be eliminated, while class sizes would rise to unprecedented levels. Juniors and seniors would be limited to five courses, leaving hours of unstructured time in their schedules.
So now, we are fighting for our education. More than 900 of my current and former classmates, in a school of around 1,200, are part of a Facebook group supporting the override because we understand the depth and severity of the proposed cuts. We are freshmen and seniors, artists and language students, Democrats and Republicans. We know that this is a breaking point for our school, our community, and our future.
It really comes down to Belmont's fundamental values. Will we sustain our renowned public schools, or let them be gutted? Belmont's defining characteristic is the education it provides — without it, we all lose.