![Wayland High School Class of 2019 alum Devin Wong is the new assistant coach of Harvard University Nordic Ski Team. "I’m excited to be a part of a new team and coaching staff am motivated to learn from [head coach] Cate Brams and grow as a coach and wax tech," Wong said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/09-27-24-NSKI-Wong-Announcement-1920x1080-1-e1730466291327-1200x704.jpg)
This article is part of a series on proposed budget cuts.
Under the Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposed by Superintendent Gary Burton, the English department would lose one full time equivalent (FTE) position, “which is one teaching position completely gone,” as department chair Brian Keaney said. On top of that, like every other academic department, the English department secretary is being cut.
Superintendent Burton said that the situation is “unfortunate, but the times call for it at the moment. It’s not enjoyable on my part.”
“We’re going to be the hardest hit in terms of effect on personnel because of the loss of a position coupled with teachers being bumped,” said Keaney.
Other departments would also have positions cut under Burton’s plan. What complicates matters for the English department is the process of “bumping.” This process, which is required by the teacher’s union contract, gives teachers with greater seniority priority. In other words, teachers with less teaching experience in Wayland will be cut first, generally.
Cuts in Classics courses are planned, and so a foreign language teacher would then teach more English classes. “Then, because the middle school is eliminating an entire house, they have a teacher who is being cut there but has seniority over another teacher here. So, that’s three people total in the English department who will be affected by the proposed cuts,” said Keaney.
The English department is also being hit structurally. Since the 1980s, the English department has had an agreement with the school administration that each teacher teaches only four classes, instead of five classes like most other departments. In return, English teachers spend that extra period conferencing with students and staffing the Writing Center.
If Burton’s budget is approved by the School Committee, English teachers would increase their workload to five sections, though options are being examined to provide extra “writing lab” sections for some students as part of some English teachers’ course loads. “Under one proposal, some English teachers would have four ‘regular’ English courses plus a scheduled writing lab as a fifth course,” said Keaney.
“Students will not have access to teachers in the same way they’ve had, it’s just reality,” Keaney said. Furthermore, with the secretarial position cut, teacher workload would be increased even further.
Because of this loss of time, the Writing Center would also be closed. “Individual writing conferences have been one of the hallmarks of the Wayland High School English curriculum. So far this year, English teachers have held over 1,400 individual conferences. We have heard through anecdotal evidence offered by WHS graduates that they find themselves well prepared to meet the demands of college writing requirements. WHS graduates report that they are often unofficial tutors and editors for other college students who aren’t as well prepared,” said Keaney.
Right now, as part of the agreement of having four classes, English has, on average, the largest class sizes of any department. Mr. Keaney said he’s trying to prevent class sizes from growing significantly.
“One of the things that I’ve been advocating for is, if the English department does have to go to teaching five sections, same as all the others, then our class sizes should be reduced to the appropriate size,” he said.
Students reacted with disappointment. “[This is] not very helpful. Teachers are there to help you work on papers and work on college essays in their spare time and cutting them will just make it harder for students. I guess it will make for worse relationships. It’s just too bad,” said junior DJ Henderson.
“I think Mr. Galalis is a really good teacher,” said junior Jane Qian. “I don’t think its fair how he might get cut for budget cuts when he really contributes to the students.”
Sophomore Nico Pascual-Leone echoed the same thoughts, saying, “I’ve had Mrs. Bresnick and Mrs. Shellito. I’m disappointed [that they might leave]. They are both really nice teachers.”
Added Keaney, “We have heard that next fiscal year and possibly the year after will be even worse than this year. So if the high school faces cuts over the next few years, what will we have left when we move into a new building? Nice facilities, but diminished programs?”
![On Thursday Oct. 10, football will face rival Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, aiming to improve their record to 4-1. “[LSRHS] has gotten the best of us over the last couple of years,” Parseghian said. “I feel that this team is willing to correct the last couple of years and, and get a [win]. I want to win a football game.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Screenshot-2024-10-08-at-12.53.35 PM-1200x801.png)
![A Wayland football player carries the football down the field. “We've cruised through the first three games,” head coach Scott Parseghian said. “[It’s a] combination of us being a good team and also the competition may not be as great as I had hoped.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_8114-1200x800.jpg)
am • Jan 27, 2010 at 7:12 PM
it is really depressing, but you have to look at the facts: we need a new high school and these "special" and "unique" parts of WHS should be the first to go, not the very essential parts.
student • Dec 23, 2009 at 2:16 AM
Wayland schools are infamous(or famous, depending on how you look at it) for their high salaries towards teachers. Why cut jobs when we should cut their payrolls?
Student • Dec 22, 2009 at 9:41 PM
I think that a lot of the things that make WHS special and unique are being cut… Many of the things that are being cut set Wayland apart.
Reckless WPS Victim • Dec 23, 2009 at 1:52 AM
Keaney put it best at the end of this. They're going to finally have a brand new school with plenty of storage space and offices and technology, but the teachers and structure that make Wayland effective and unique will be gone. Our specialized English system is a critical component to a Wayland education.
Always having a practicing English teacher in the Writing Center, who is often teaching or has taught the book your paper is about, is invaluable. It's better than going for a private writing tutor, because the teacher in the Writing Center knows your teacher on a personal level, and understands department standards and policies.
They can slash the budget until there's only basic English, Math, and Science classes, and keep on pushing their new school building through, but it's going to feel EMPTY. They can't continue to sacrifice the education and experience of current Wayland students. It's not only unethical, but it's destroying a school. There's much more to a school than just a building.
Taxpayers are paying for the current education of Wayland students in addition to looking towards the future. These reckless and callous budget cuts show that Gary Burton might not be a fit leader for Wayland's schools through this difficult time. There are other areas where money is being wasted, our teachers are not one of those areas.