Partisan politics will produce bigger classes

To the editor:

"Doing the teacher shuffle" touches on the heart of what most educators have feared for months. In the article, increased class size is mentioned as one of the situations teachers will have to deal with. This issue is quite possibly the most pressing issue teachers face. We can deal with fewer supplies, older textbooks and less technology, but dealing with increased class sizes is the most difficult challenge.

In most school districts class sizes have not been at ideal levels for years. However, teachers have adjusted and dealt with those issues. Now we will adjust again and deal with even larger numbers.

What does that mean for the average teacher? Increased class size usually means a decrease in the amount of material covered, a decrease in the quality of the education a child receives and a child's education has been short-changed because partisan legislators wouldn't put aside their differences and do what is right for the children.

State legislators should hang their heads in shame but will hold their heads high and proudly proclaim all they've done for education.

I know there is no easy answer to a balanced budget in the state, but I also know that there is no need for the state's most vulnerable to suffer at the hands of partisan politics.

ROY MEREDITH

Cape Girardeau