Susana McConnell’s Westlake AP Microeconomics students met with Texas state representatives Feb. 28 to discuss issues with state funding and recent budget cuts made in Eanes.
The district’s board recently took action to combat budget deficits due to a lack of state funding. Decisions included eliminating PLC periods, discontinuing the Spanish immersion program and closing Valley View Elementary. The meeting with students and representatives gave students an opportunity to share their ideas.
“Students had to investigate what was going on with school finance in Texas with regards to how to fund public education, and they specialized in a topic,” McConnell said. “So some of them looked specifically at what was happening in other states. Some of them looked at vouchers. Some of them looked at the historical impact of recapture. They had that, and then they worked in groups to come up with a recommendation to the board about what to do in our budget crisis.”
AP Microeconomics students dove into the details of school funding issues locally and federally.
“I think a lot of them were very unaware about the complexity of school finance and what goes into it, and the role of recapture and how that impacts our school district,” McConnell said. “So I think it was very eye opening to a lot of students, and a fair number of them got very passionate about what their role was to be able to improve the situation in public schools.”
AP Micro students developed a deeper understanding of the factors that affect school funding and Eanes’ recent decisions. After conducting research and preparing presentations, AP Microeconomics students had the opportunity to talk directly to the district and Reps. Donna Howard and Vickie Goodwin Feb. 28.
“This semester, the superintendent wanted to hear from some of the maybe more innovative ideas, so we met with him and a group of six students, and then he thought it’d be a good idea to have other people hear it,” McConnell said. “So he kind of helped arrange the representatives (Donna Howard, Vickie Goodwin) coming to us.”
Students took the assignment seriously and their research prepared them for the meeting, and having a wider audience contributed to the authentic experience.
“The students did a great job preparing for it and talking about their understanding of the issue,” McConnell said. “And then the media being there was good because it helps other people understand the concerns that students had.”
