Asking for Prayer

In three weeks, Jefferson County, my school district, has a bond/mill on the ballot. Vote YES on 3A/3B signs are everywhere, and teachers and parents have been going door to door to spread the word. The same 3A/3B bond did NOT pass three years ago, and it is even more important to pass this time around. The cost  increase is $.10 per day for house owners, which is $3 per month. Easy peasy.

My school district has been in some very serious financial problems over the past four years. Over the last two years, my school district has cut over $70 million. Part of these cuts included salary freezes, a 3 percent paycut for all staff, and furlough days sprinkled throughout our school year. Health insurance has gone up, benefits have gone down, and it has been a tough few years for many of us struggling on a tight budget.

Among many other consequences, here's what will happen (probably to me) if this bond/mill doesn't pass:
Chatfield Senior High alone will have to cut 10-15 teachers (and every school in Jeffco will have to cut 10-15 teachers).

My school, the place where I have labored for the past three years to get a permanent job, will have to cut 10-15 teachers. I will be among those cut.

By cutting 10-15 teachers, our classroom sizes will go from an already overflowing classroom of 30 (which is nearly impossible to teach) to upwards of 40 students per room. We teachers cannot even fathom how this is possible, as our rooms are so small that 30 students are busting at the seems.

By cutting 10-15 teachers, my co-workers will go from teaching 5 classes a day to 6 classes a day, each class with 40 students.

My school will have to cut a counselor, a principal, a librarian, several Pera's, and the list goes on and on of all the cuts.

It's serious. It keeps me up at night. It is very, very serious.

I know none of my blog readers are in Jefferson County. If you were, I would demand you vote YES on 3A/3B. But since you can't vote YES, I am asking for your prayers. Pray this bond/mill passes, or yet again I will face being cut at my school.

We NEED this bond to pass.

Dear Lord, help people see the importance of this bond. May the voters of Jeffco understand why our schools need this money. May your presence be felt as people consider this bond.

Thank you for your prayers over the next three weeks.