As a clinical psychologist who has treated highly suicidal patients for 50 years, I am acutely aware of factors that lead to the kind of despair that suicidal people experience. Among the highest are loneliness, failure and loss of significant others. For teen-agers, these factors are especially painful. Among my colleagues, and in the media generally, on of the situations that exacerbate these factors is the large class sizes in our schools. Personal relationships with teachers have been shown to be particularly helpful for teen-agers who face difficult situations at home and among peers. For example, my high school band teacher was instrumental in keeping me in school and alleviating my feelings of social isolation. Large class sizes make such relationships difficult, if not impossible.
Consequently, to combine schools to save money is to reduce, if not eliminate, the possibility of teacher-student relationships. Sacrificing the lives of our future citizens to save a few dollars makes no sense. Actually, it's unconscionable. The Olympia community understands this and always votes to increase funding for schools. The State Legislature, however, does not. Cutting school funding (or failing to provide adequate funding in the first place) ensures societal dissolution.
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