Education Report - Thousands of US Teachers Lose Jobs as States Cut Budgets
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
America's recession ended in June of two thousand nine but recovery has been slow. Many states face budget problems and have cut spending in areas including education.
美国经济衰退于2009年6月结束，但经济复苏缓慢。许多州面临财政预算问题，削减了包括教育在内的各领域支出。
In California, thousands of teachers have lost their jobs. Veronica Pellegrin received a layoff notice in the mail.
在加州，数千名教师失去了工作。维罗尼卡·佩勒格林（Veronica Pellegrin）收到了裁员信。
VERONICA PELLEGRIN: "Getting the letter and seeing [you] will no longer be employed, your services will no longer be required -- it is very disheartening, to say the least, and frustrating."
佩勒格林：“收到裁员信，看到自己不再被聘用，不再被需要 -- 这令人非常沮丧，至少是非常挫败。”
Sixty percent of the teachers at the Mariposa-Nabi primary school in Los Angeles have received layoff notices.
洛杉矶Mariposa-Nabi小学60%的教师收到了裁员通知。
Salvador Rodriguez, the school principal, has been able to provide computers for his students.
学校校长萨尔瓦多·罗德里格斯（Salvador Rodriguez）已经能够为他的学生提供电脑。
SALVADOR RODRIGUEZ: "We have to keep going and make it the best year possible with all these changes."
罗德里格斯：“我们必须坚持下去，在诸多变化中使今年的状况尽可能最好。”
But fewer teachers mean bigger classes at his school. Mr. Rodriguez says there used to be twenty students to a teacher. By next year, he expects nearly thirty students in a class.
但教师减少意味着班级规模的扩大。罗德里格斯表示，过去每位教师教20名学生。到明年，他预计每个班会有近30名学生。
SALVADOR RODRIQUEZ: "If you cut personnel, they can not give that individual attention."
罗德里格斯说：“如果裁减了教师，他们就无法个别照顾到每个学生。”
Teachers say this is true especially in schools with large immigrant populations where English is not the first language of many students.
教师们称这是事实，尤其是移民人口比例大的学校，这种学校很多学生的第一语言不是英语。
Los Angeles has the nation's second-largest public school system after New York City. The district has dismissed ten to twelve percent of its staff during the past two years. About half of those laid off were teachers, says John Deasy, the head of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
洛杉矶拥有全美第2大公立学校体系，仅次于纽约。在过去的两年里，该地区已经辞退了10%~20%的员工，洛杉矶联合学区负责人约翰·迪希（John Deasy）称，这其中近一半的被辞退人员是教师。
JOHN DEASY: "The recession has had an enormous impact on the state budget and we have had a huge drop in funding."
迪希：“经济衰退对州预算产生了巨大影响，我们的经费大幅削减。”
An education professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, John Rogers, says other states have also laid off teachers.
加州大学洛杉矶分校教育学教授约翰·罗杰斯（John Rogers）称，其他州也辞退了很多教师。
JOHN ROGERS: "Some projections estimate that across the country, one hundred sixty thousand teachers have received layoff notices this spring."
罗杰斯：“一些预测估计，今年春天全美有16万教师收到了裁员通知。”
But he says the situation in California is worse because the state was already facing a budget deficit before the recession. Also, California was spending less per student than the national average.
但他表示，加州的情况更糟糕。因为在经济衰退前，该州就已经面临预算赤字。此外，加州在每名学生上的支出也低于全美平均水平。
Primary and secondary schools in California receive most of their funding from the state government. AJ Duffy is president of the United Teachers Los Angeles union. Mr. Duffy says the amount of funding each year depends on the economy.
加州中小学大部分经费来自州政府。 美国洛杉矶教师工会主席达菲（AJ Duffy）表示，每年的经费取决于经济状况。
AJ DUFFY: "In the past two and a half to three years, we have lost twenty billion dollars in funding for public education."
达菲：“在过去的两年半到三年时间里，我们已经失去了二百亿美元的公众教育经费。”
And Superintendent John Deasy expects more changes if the state budget does not improve.
（洛杉矶联合学区）负责人迪希预计如果州预算没有得到改善，会有更多变化。
JOHN DEASY: "We are cutting all of our librarians, our nurses. We would be forced to close and consolidate schools."
迪希：“我们纷纷削减了图书管理员、护士，我们可能将被迫关闭或合并学校。”
Most California school districts have already reduced the number of days per year that students must attend classes. Other states are also talking about shortening the school year to save money.
加州学区大部分学校已经减少了学生每年上课的天数。为了省钱，其它州也在讨论缩短学年。 |