Local News from Marbletown, Rochester, & Rosendale
On Tuesday, March 24, students at RVHS staged a walkout. The school district has proposed cuts to several staff to reduce the budget, but many parents and students are unhappy about the planned cuts.
Penelope Roosa Dunphy, a junior who took the lead in organizing the walkout, said, “The organizing started on Friday the 20th, when we came into school and we started hearing about the possibility of teacher cuts from multiple teachers. Every time I went to a new class, I learned more about what they were planning to do and who was at risk of being cut.”
Dunphy and her peers decided to do something because they were frustrated.
“We decided that the best option was a walkout. I took the lead and helped create the poster, Instagram post, and a petition and helped decide when things would happen. I went to many teachers after school and made sure I had my facts straight to ensure I wasn’t giving out false information. I also asked them what was against school rules what I could do to ensure the least amount of punishment. With some help from my peers, we started telling other students on Monday. I created the Instagram post later that night and went to school early on Tuesday and started to put posters on the wall with some of my friends,” said Dunphy.
As to why the students staged a walkout, Ryan Helm, also a junior, said, “I think that information we understood the administration shared with teachers about possible cuts caused the students to feel dissatisfied with the district’s management of the budget. Because of this possibility a group of us organized the walkout to protest the proposal, and to encourage conversations on different ways to manage the budget.”
As to what happened, Dunphy said, “We ended up being outside for an hour and twenty minutes. During this time, we got threatened with repercussions, even though we were doing nothing illegal or against school policy, there were 15 police cars. They even took some of the students from the Intermediate School out of the crowd. Some RVHS students went back inside after a while, but most stayed out until school ended. After the first 15 minutes, they told us they heard our voices and were begging us to go inside. The two student board members even had their positions threatened by Mr. Spadaro. My petition ended up having around 181 signatures. Many students also showed up at the board meeting, many giving public comments. The board even mentioned the protest during the meeting.”
Alethea Davis, age 11 and a sixth-grader, said, “ I think it’s important to protest these possible cuts because other people shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of someone else’s actions and possible responsibilities. A school should be set up so students can have success.”
Jeffrey Davis, a parent of one high schooler and a middle schooler, said, “I think it’s remarkable, frankly, that a group of teenagers and tweens felt so connected to their teachers and support staff that they self-organized a protest walkout. In the best sense, this was an educational moment. Students learn about civil disobedience within a democracy. I was proud of both my daughters for caring enough to walk out for the right reasons even if they didn’t have all the information. Walkouts communicate that people care. Directly or not, students see the challenges of power, economics and agency at play. I believe Dr. Spadaro and Ms. Biggane are trying to be as transparent as possible in a short amount of time. I believe they can do more and am confident they are staying up long hours to be even more transparent.”
