If this were a typical school year, Jean Vargas would be in her classroom at Scotland School for Veterans' Children, evaluating students' reading levels and helping them reach new levels of comprehension.

Instead, the unemployed reading aide from Newburg and her husband, who also lost his job with the school's Junior ROTC program, are spending their days at the Capitol, trying to up legislators' understanding of the 114-year-old school's vital mission. "There's no guarantee, even if we do get back in the budget, I'll have my job back," Vargas, who is head of the school's teachers union, said. "I'm not fighting for my job, but because the school is so worthwhile."

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