By Staff
from staff reports
Escambia County Middle School may lose up to four teachers soon.
That, school officials said, makes renewing a property tax for schools all the more important.
Principal Zickeyous Byrd said that because of the loss of federal funding, he is already in danger of losing four teachers. He is able to keep two of those four teachers if he cuts out programs.
Byrd said that without the tax he is certainly going to lose two teachers, even with cutting the four programs.
ECMS is attempting to enforce the model middle school concept, which divides the students into groups and provides them with consistency and individual learning.
Byrd said that without having the taxes renewed, the model middle school concept would not be able to be enforced.
According to Byrd, with the loss of teachers, class sizes will get larger, which he said is a problem.
Escambia County School Superintendent Billy Hines agreed with Byrd's sentiment.
The school is providing upperclassman with a new program in which students have to keep a particular grade point average. This means when they are in the fifth and sixth grades they will need individual attention from their teachers.
Overall, ECMS needs the tax to be renewed in order for the school to stay at its very best.