The ripple effects of the faltering economy have hit students and public schools across the country. According to a report in the New York Times, the city of Detroit has fired 700 teachers and Los Angeles fired 500 school administrators in response to budget crises. Meanwhile, the Miami-Dade County system in Florida fired hundreds of school psychologists, custodians and maintenance workers.
Schools are seeing increasing numbers of homeless students and those needing free lunches. Mobile, Ala., had 850 homeless students in the 2006-2007 school year; that number jumped to about 2,500 in the following school year. Public education is clearly a low priority for the U.S. government as schools cut back on buses, fire workers and even adopt a 4-day week to cut costs.
