Re: ELEM: AIDES ABOUT TO BE SEMI-AXED--HELP!!

["Dolores Campbell (813) 534-0778" <CAMPBED1@MAIL.FIRN.EDU>]

Hi Judy--
We have not been able to fight this problem in our county as it has been
slowly wedged into our lives in the last few years.  We are a large
(geographically and pupil-wise) county that because we are so spread out
are considered rural in Florida.  We get less funding than the urban
counties and the smaller counties end up more evenly funded because there
are  fewer schools and pupils there.  We were never guaranteed a
paraprofessional for our elementaray media centers and there are very few
now allotted to media centers.  If they have any assistance it will be for
3 or 4 hours at the most.  Our state legislature is even contemplating
dropping the word media from the description of teachers from the education
guidelines that are now being redone in Tallahassee.  If that happens we
fear that there will be a perfect excuse to do away with media specialists
and just put a para type person in the media center.  We too are fighting
for our lives.  They have already tried this trick in some counties with
the ruling on "site-based decision making".  Please let me know your
outcome as we need any thing you find out to help our battle.  Thanks and
good luck.  Dolores Campbell, District Media Services, Polk  County Florida
campbed1@mail.firn.edu