A New Year Begins Amid Struggles

With more than a month into the new school year, students and staff say they are feeling the brunt of continued budget cuts.

Over the summer, the New Haven Unified School District was forced to make across its schools. At one point, Logan's library, sports and music programs were at-risk of being cut entirely. Though measures were taken to ensure that the students would go into the new year with a somewhat seamless transition, some cuts were unavoidable.

For some students, one of the heaviest cuts came to the school's library.

Also on the chopping block earlier this year, Logan's library continues to function, but with restrictions. Unless scheduling a classroom visit, teachers can only send their students to the library on Wednesdays with a pass. This limits students from popping in at lunch, before school or afterschool to pick up a book, students said.

“It’s a lot harder to get a book to read for class," said senior Jess Guadamuz. "It’s really sad."

Not only have there been severe cuts to the library, but the homework help center has also been severely cut.

The center's hours have changed from before school, afterschool and Saturday mornings to only Saturday mornings. The lack of resources has frustrated some students.

“We really need tutoring because it helped me a lot in middle school," said freshman Senia, who declined to give her last name.

Teachers and coaches say they are being stretched beyond their limits as well.

“My classes are huge [and] we have fewer supplies," said history teacher Timothy Wharton. "The loss of the printing center really hurt.”

John Goulding, coach of the defending NCS champion baseball team, said less money for sports is adding to their workload.

“The loss of many coaching stipends makes our jobs a lot harder," he said. "We only have half of our JV coaching staff. We have to do all the field maintenance that we never had to do before.”

Though the situation is bad, there is still a sense of hope, Wharton said.

“There’s a sense of determination with the staff to weather the storm and hope that things will just get better somehow, someway," he said.

The new year is proving to be a challenge for Logan principal Amy McNamara. The veteran educator's workload has almost doubled since losing a vice principal this year, which was one of four assistant principals positions eliminated throughout the district.

“I had to learn a ton of new things with budgeting. It’s hard doing all the administrative work without a vice principal," she said.

Though McNamara is trying to remain optimistic, the district's financial situation has left Logan in a rough spot.

"There’s very little money left for the rest of the year. I am praying that we don’t have any emergencies because I honestly am not sure that we can afford it," she said. "The library is a visual reminder of how bad things have gotten. We’re all working long hours, but we’re just hoping things change and get better.”

Upcoming fundraisers

Hoping to change NHUSD's plight are the New Haven School's Foundation and New Haven Boosters Association, two local organizations that are helping to raise funds for district schools.

On October 15, the New Haven School’s foundation is holding their third annual “Mutt Strut” at the Masonic Homes of California. On Nov. 5, the organization is also co-hosting a fashion show fundraiser at Acacia Creek.

For more information on these upcoming events, see the foundation website at www.nhsfoundation.com.