"A little over two years ago, my husband and I had our first child enter the Hutchinson public school system. We were, of course, full of anticipation and excitement for her as she would begin her educational career. Over the past couple of years, our excitement has turned to concern, as we have been witness to many of the challenges being faced at our child’s elementary school.

I recently had the opportunity to spend an entire day at my child’s school. I have known for a couple of years that class-size challenges exist, but my eyes were opened to just how serious these problems are in our elementary schools. In our primary classes we have 28 students to 1 teacher. As I walked through the halls, I noticed the classrooms were packed with children. Children were literally spilling out of the classrooms and many are receiving classroom instruction in the halls. We actually have more than enough students to hire 2 additional full-time teachers; however, there is no physical place to put these teachers and students. These are our 1^st and 2^nd graders who are trying to learn fundamental skills such as reading, writing and basic math skills.

In addition to these challenges, we also have professionals such as our speech pathologist and our music teacher working out of closets. Yes, these spaces were actually designed to be closets, and we now have children receiving educational instruction in them. Our library has found its home on the stage of our school gymnasium because we don’t have the space to have a media center for our children. Our children get to check out books on the stage while Physical Education classes are being held in the same room. We also have a classroom full of 6^th graders that have found their space in a modular unit on the blacktop of the playground. 

We have amazingly wonderful teachers and staff at our school who are working hard every day to give our children the best educational experience possible despite these circumstances. We also have children who are eager to learn. One teacher I visited with mentioned how she feels sick every night because she’s worried that she won’t be able to reach every student and give them each the time they deserve and need.

My hope is that if you are a Hutchinson resident with or without children in our public schools, you will strongly consider the challenges that our children and faculty are facing every day. The quality of education that our children are receiving lies in the hands of the voting public. Please take the time to attend one of the informational meetings about the bond issue this fall and please consider these things as you go to the polls. Vote 'yes' to support our Hutchinson bond issue. Our children are counting on your votes!"
- Tammy Carson, Hutchinson, KS