Budget Cuts

With the economy in shambles, the politics of budget cuts seem to be on everyone’s minds. Why is education loosing money while CEOs receive bonuses from government buy-outs? It appears as though national and local government priorities are devastatingly skewed. Not only are school funding cuts in general affecting our community, but sex education is taking a particularly hard hit. With an already meager allowance allotted for sex education, the County Commission cut funds across the board. However, no cuts were as devastating as those made to Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that provides sex education, reproductive counseling, STD testing, abortions, and contraceptives. While classrooms are getting bigger, students are loosing sex-ed programs. After a failed attempt to remove Planned Parenthood funding altogether, the county cut the 2008 budget from $25,000 in half.

Already massively under funded, Planned Parenthood pays for sex education in public schools and is responsible for supporting a group of students who travel to schools and discuss teenage pregnancies and STDs. With teen STD and pregnancy rates increasing, this is no time to cut funding for a program that will help prevent years of problems to come. Sex education has proven to reduce unintentional pregnancies and spread of disease. Due to the budget costs, Planned Parenthood will not be able to afford materials for educating the community. It will not be able to provide free and low priced contraceptives. It will not be able to provide vaccinations that can prevent cancer and death.

A weak economy requires major compromises. However, the majority of compromises that have been made thus far have been made by those who need it the most. Though the commission denies that their choices are politically motivated, it is hard not to notice the disparity between programs budgets that are being cut, and programs with neutral and even increasing budgets.