ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Inside Allentown’s St Thomas More School, the year’s curriculum is creativity from teachers like Erin Lawler.
“Do you feel like you have a budget impasse 101 degree here?” 69 News reporter Bo Koltnow asked the first grade teacher.
“It’s taken a lot of patience,” she said.
And plenty of paper.
“How many Xerox copies have you made in the past 3 months?” Koltnow asked a 5th grade teacher.
“6 trillion,” a student chimed in.
Close, as due to the budget impasse the school hasn’t had it’s vital, yearly workbooks.
Copier queen Jane Stewart-Smith says the school has gone through 50 reams of paper.
This is double its normal amount, as teachers are printing daily workbook assignments, as the school couldn’t buy new ones.
“We are very blessed to have great teachers who have been very creative and who have been very flexible,” said Principal Amanda Salovay.
Who adds that that only goes so far.
“Not having the books, not having the materials is a step back,” she said.
Adding extra pressure to mothers like Olivia Brochu, who has two kids at the school.
“The main thing I’ve noticed is the teachers are much more stressed because they are having to put so much more thought into how they are going to explain these concepts to the students,” she said.
With now a passed budget, hopes are new materials will arrive by Christmas.
A school year, where a lesson in appreciation rises to the top of the class.