FAHS Drivers’ Ed on the Chopping Block?

With the school’s budget finally balanced for this year, most of the programs scheduled to be cut will now still be available to students. However, Drivers’ Education, a class for sophomores, will no longer be available or required to graduate. Current Drivers’ Education teacher Amy Barnett will be moving to another school in the district; with the district  so tight on funds for the ’11-’12 school year, there is not enough money available to afford an additional instructor to teach the program.

The cost of Drivers’ Education itself is fairly inexpensive, but along with teaching that class, the instructor will be required to teach gym as well, which costs more money and is the reason why there cannot be another teacher hired. The issue about which most students, as well as parents, are concerned is that by passing the Drivers’ Education course, students receive a discount on their car insurance once receiving their license. Since the class will be cancelled for next year, students will no longer earn this discount. The exact amount the students would save can be found out by calling Triple A.

In light of budget cuts from Harrisburg, Drivers’ Ed will not be the only program experiencing a major change; the teachers themselves are going to change too. Thankfully, no faculty or staff is going to be laid off during the upcoming school year, but some of the teachers will be teaching more classes or different classes to help save money. The budget is officially balanced for this coming year, but in later years Fleetwood might be in the same predicament all over again.