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CLEAR Temp: 67 °F Wind: NW at 7 mph Sunday, June 2, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend June 2, 2002 Talent Middle School math teacher Lisa Wileman, left, leads her sixth- and seventh-graders to the correct solution for a problem involving water volume. The two-year teacher doesn�t know whether she�ll have a job next year. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Profiles in uncertainty Introduction: Waiting for answers about Oregon's school funding crisis The student: Not enough books, not enough desks The administrator: Reluctant bearer of bad news The teacher: Relishing ‘aha’ moments, worrying about future By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Late on this Thursday afternoon, Lisa Wileman’s classroom at Talent Middle School is hot and stuffy. Still, her 20 sixth- and seventh-graders plug away at their geometry lesson, from the boy struggling to understand the right way to make a paper triangular prism to the trio trying to find the volume of a cone. "My job is not to give you the answers," says Wileman, 28. "My job is to teach you how to find them." Within 15 minutes, in fact, with the help of a tub of water, a plastic model and a few hints from Wileman, her students crack the formula. "We did it!" crows 13-year-old Latysha Martinez. "Is that extra credit?" Wileman smiles. With two years in the classroom behind her, the 2000 graduate of Southern Oregon University relishes every "Aha!" moment her students achieve. That will be the hardest thing to give up next year, when Wileman likely won’t have a job. Uncertainty over state funding means the Phoenix-Talent School District, like others across the region, may have to lay off staff. It’s a personal blow to Wileman, whose $33,000 annual salary is the primary support for her family right now, while husband Jason, 30, finishes a degree at SOU. "I said in the faculty room the other day that I’d just go on welfare and food stamps and get my Oregon Health Plan card," says Wileman, the mother of Brenton, 8, and Mali, 5. "That would push me over the edge." Instead, Wileman likely will work as a substitute, filling in for math, science and music teachers on a day- by-day basis. Laid off last year from a half-time position at Ashland High, she subbed almost every day. The pay was fine, but Wileman lost valuable insurance and retirement benefits. Right now, Wileman is living with uncertainty. She says she tries to ignore it, but it’s odd to think that the actions of the state Legislature will have immediate and dramatic impact on her life. "It affects everything: where my son’s going to school, everything," she says. Her concerns extend beyond the personal. Further cuts could mean that classes at Talent Middle School will revert from block scheduling to traditional 45-minute classes. There will be no paper cylinders, no tubs of water, no hands-on lessons. "It will be take out your notebooks, we’re taking notes," she says. The solution to the funding dilemma may lie in a sales tax that taps tourist dollars, says Wileman, who grew up in California. "I love not having a sales tax here, but living in Ashland, I see the streets are lined with people carrying packages away," she says. "Four percent of what they bought? That’s a lot of money." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S