Bullying has always been a problem in schools, but it has risen to a new level, Chesterfield County Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome said in a recent presentation. “They have the Internet now,“ he said. Bullies also have other communications devices, such as phones for texting and sharing pictures. “Cyber-bullying presents unique challenges to schools because once something is put out on the Internet, it has the power to become available to the entire school and more,“ said Martha Turner, a counselor at Robious Middle School. “Before the Internet, bullying took the form of gossip, verbal or physical harassment.“

Bullying has always been a problem in schools, but it has risen to a new level, Chesterfield County Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome said in a recent presentation. “They have the Internet now,“ he said. Bullies also have other communications devices, such as phones for texting and sharing pictures. “Cyber-bullying presents unique challenges to schools because once something is put out on the Internet, it has the power to become available to the entire school and more,“ said Martha Turner, a counselor at Robious Middle School. “Before the Internet, bullying took the form of gossip, verbal or physical harassment.“

The Chesterfield County school system is proposing to eliminate more than 500 positions, funding for Advanced Placement testing and its elementary International Baccalaureate program to make up for a $52 million budget shortfall. “To say that this is the most difficult budget process I have overseen as a superintendent would be a dramatic understatement,“ Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome said yesterday at a news conference.

Education is not optional. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957—the first satellite to orbit the Earth, that was considered by many a threat to American national security—the immediate response was to turn to education to solve the crisis. When the A Nation at Risk report was released in 1983, education was described as the central issue that would define our nation’s future. Three years ago, noted author Thomas Friedman warned in his book, The World Is Flat, that globalization had shifted into warp speed and if America is to meet the challenges of advances in technology and communications we must step up our pace. Again and again, education is seen as the key component.

The Chesterfield County school system will have to cut an estimated $38.4 million from the school division’s operating budget for the next fiscal year, likely leading to layoffs, canceled raises and higher pupil-teacher ratios, officials said last night. “This economic crisis will impact every employee in our division and every student we serve,“ Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome told the School Board, reading from a letter sent to all school employees.