Textbooks are a necessity for almost any classroom. Textbooks are the platform for learning. However, students are discovering that some courses lack this basic tool. Some students recognize this outcome, and those who are in the Spanish 1-2 and all French levels know especially.

Since several classes must share one set, no one can take the books home to complete assignments. The extent of homework is a worksheet, which can’t offer the support of a textbook.

Advanced classes are suffering as well. The Advanced Placement Language and Composition class must also share one set of class-issue textbooks.

“I was excited at first when I found out we didn’t have to carry another heavy textbook to and from school,” Vincente Arburua, junior, said. “But now the class could be set back a little.”

He said his class was lucky enough to have a teacher who gives good notes, so their understanding of that class will turn out fine.

Zariah Gonzales, junior, shares her English class with Arburua. She took the honors English class her sophomore year but since there isn’t one junior year, she wasn’t sure whether or not to take AP or regular when it came time to pick classes for the following year.

Unlike the Internet, she said textbooks are a reliable source. “I like English,” she said, “but the lack of books aren’t preparing us for next year.”

Others also feel the effects. “It kind of limits us because we can’t learn from (books) or read the material,” junior Sofia Rodriguez said.

Though there are several classes that must share textbooks, there isn’t one person or administration to blame. There are multiple reasons for a lack of books.The first occurs at the end of the previous year. When students go to return books they checked out, some were stolen.

Some were lost.

Some were damaged beyond repair.

Some weren’t turned in.

“Though students may pay off their debt, the money goes into the school’s general fund,” Deborah Berg, French teacher, said. “So the money may not be used to buy a new book for that same course.”

She said a lot of times the money may be spent on books for core classes, instead of the original. Another cause that pertains to the language courses is the books that are being used are from 2001 and 2002. Since there weren’t new sets of language books bought, the amount of books depleted because they are being stolen or lost.

“It’s interesting because we’re (teachers) trying to figure out ways to use textbooks that we don’t have,” Berg said.

The absence of an honors English class at the junior level leaves students with two options: AP or regular. Though the next step after honors is AP, some students may be intimidated by the general reputation of it and this may lead to the sophomore English class splitting as junior year starts.

This year more students enrolled in the AP course, but since the school only had enough books for one class while there are two, the books had to be taken back from the students and kept as a class set. As much as it makes sense to buy new textbooks,” Assistant Principal Melissa Beattie said, “the budget is already pre accounted for.”

Basically this means that money was already set for a certain subject or class. For example, the school legally can’t buy a Spanish textbook with money from that was set for the math department.