“We are always fighting for music and the arts at our schools!” said Superintendent Cindy Marten at the San Diego Unified School District Honor Band and Orchestra Concert that took place last Saturday. This closing statement was met with applause by the parents and groans and stifled laughter from the band students. Sitting there myself, I couldn’t help but remember last year when the possibility of no music at all at the school became a very real concern. In the end, most band classes were put back in the curriculum but with significantly lower enrollment and no funding from the school. With further cuts being made this year it raises the question, what is the school district doing with the money?

At this point in time most La Jolla High students have become used to dealing with the inevitable few teachers being cut every year, but this year much more drastic cuts are being made. The school has decided to get rid of the ninth grade World History class. This decision was justified by saying that most colleges require only three years of history for admission, but this is only the bare minimum. Kids who now wish to take four years of history, maybe in preparation for their major or maybe just because they’re interested, don’t have that option.

The cuts don’t stop there, there are still several teachers who will lose their jobs this year due to the lack of money. While it is not confirmed, it wouldn’t be unheard of if this dwindling number of teachers lead to more classes being cut. All the while, the school continues to fund construction to “modernize” the campus. The United States is one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries in the world and yet we ranked 27th in the world for education quality. One can’t help but think that these cuts aren’t helping the country’s case.