This article is part of a series on proposed budget cuts:

Wayland High School’s science department would be strongly affected by the school district’s proposed budget cuts. The cuts, as they are now, would cause the loss of one science teacher and the department’s secretary.

Two teachers, Ron Stevens and Helen Rainoff, will be retiring at the end of this year. Because of the budget reduction, only one teacher’s position will be refilled for the 2010-2011 school year.

Another major cut is the removal of the department secretary Debby Keogh,  who has spent many years working at WHS. Department secretaries help teachers by photocopying and preparing equipment. In addition, Keogh serves as a lab assistant.

“She does a lot of the support work for us,” explained department head Ken Altshuler. Added Principal Pat Tutwiler, “She is the heart and soul of the department. She has taken things off teacher’s plates and is a hard worker.”

Although the cuts will bring change to the science department, some things will stay the same. There will still be dedicated teachers, resources available, and reasonably-sized classes.

All of the core courses will remain. These include college physical science (CPS), and college and honors biology, chemistry, and physics. Everyone who wants to take these courses will be able to.

“People who wish to double up in science might not get both. We want to make sure everyone gets one before people go back for seconds,” said Tutwiler.

As of now, no Advanced Placement (AP) courses are being cut. However, electives such as environmental science may be cut, depending on what students sign up for at the end of the year.

Because of safety concerns, class sizes for science classes will not be affected. For example, a chemistry class limit will not exceed 25 students because of lab dangers.

Students expressed contrasting views on the proposal. Freshman Bridget Smith expressed frustration with the budget cuts in general, saying, “I think it’s ridiculous. We need our teachers, and they need their secretaries.  Our classes are already full, they’re already overstressed, and job cuts aren’t going to solve anything.”

On the other hand, some are more supportive of the administration’s decisions. “Well, I think that if the school has deemed it necessary to cut back on costs, then rehiring one teacher next year as opposed to two teachers is reasonable,” said junior Brett Baker. “As long as we are still receiving the same classes, I don’t see any problem with streamlining our budget.”

“That seems like a pretty fair solution,” said senior Or Efrat.

Said Principal Tutwiler, “I don’t feel good about these kinds of reduction policies. It saddens me, but I understand the economic problems the world faces. Wayland isn’t immune to these problems.”

This article is part of a series on proposed budget cuts:

• Budget cuts: the Latin program
• Budget cuts: the Athletics program
• Budget cuts: the Guidance department
• Budget cuts: the Science department
• Budget cuts: the English department