Budget cuts: the creativity killer - The Prospect

It’s widely known that Illinois is broke. If you search “Illinois is” in Google, it’s pretty obvious. The state’s severe lack of money has greatly affected Illinois schools since the downward spiral began. Class sizes are getting larger and programs deemed “unnecessary” are being cut. Most of the time, the programs that go first are the arts: music departments, visual arts, and anything even close to being similar. The cutting of these programs is not just localized to Illinois–it’s been happening all across the country for a while now. As these budget cuts are sweeping across the country, more and more music programs are being cut. Consequently, the teachers in charge and all their experience are tossed away. After severe budget cuts at my school last year, we lost 15 teachers, and over 80 years of experience. As of this year, our entire Home Economics department has been cut. 3 teachers and over half a dozen courses, just gone. http://www.theprospect.net/budget-cuts-the-creativity-killer-24078