BY KAREN GOLDMAN
newsroom@newsandtribune.com
NEW ALBANY — The New Albany-Floyd County School system has many caring, devoted instructional aides. Many aides have been with the school system for years and deeply care about the education of our children. It certainly takes special people who truly care about making a difference in the lives of our children, especially the students with special needs.
With no disrespect to teachers, for there are many wonderful teachers in the NAFC School system, I feel that the instructional aides’ jobs are just as important. The instructional aides do a great deal of work for the teachers, with much less pay. Without them it would sometimes be difficult to run a classroom efficiently. It would take away form the students’ quality of learning.
We were informed recently that the proposed budget cut suggests terminating all medical and dental insurance benefits for instructional aides. The proposed changes state that the insurance rates would significantly increase, starting July 1, 2010, and all health and dental benefits would be eliminated beginning July 1, 2012.
There are many instructional aides that are single and single parents who rely on these health insurance benefits for themselves and/or their children. Without these benefits, many of us would have to look elsewhere for a job. The increase in the rates, before we would be dropped, would be more than we make. Therefore, many of us would be forced to quit our jobs.
I truly believe that there are other alternatives to the budget cut problem that would not devastate the lives of so many school employees and their families. Not only will it affect us, it will greatly affect the education of the students. Instructional aides are of major importance to the school system, especially in the special needs classsrooms. I feel that it is very inhumane to take these benefits from the instructional aides after their many years of dedicated service.
