Let's put education and safety at the bottom of the barrel! For Sure.

So here in Oklahoma we are facing budget cuts in education and public safety.  Am I the only one that sees that as absolutely ridiculous??
My mother is a 3rd grade teacher.  They were just told that the district can no longer afford substitute teachers, so if a teacher has to take off, they just have to combine classrooms.  The teachers are glad to do this, because otherwise, they are facing layoffs.  Many districts are laying teachers off.  So... apparently this means classroom sizes are going to get larger.  One suggestion to help the budget was to take away some of the teacher's sick days.  Also, there is talk of reducing the 3 personal days teachers get a year.  (By-the-way, those of you who have the argument that teachers get 3 months off.  They don't.  They do not get paid for their time off.  And, if you ever figured up the actual hours a teacher puts in, most of their hourly wages would be surprisingly low!)
This makes me not even want my kids in public school anymore!  I think about homeschooling all the time!  How much good will it do them if teachers are having to combine classes and have much larger classrooms?  What about kids like my son that are not on an IP, don't have a severe learning problem, but need a little extra help?  I'm sure aids and paraprofessionals will be some of the first to be let go.
I know someone who was recently assaulted in a small town.  The police were not called.  Why?  Because, due to budget cuts, the police in that town were not on duty overnight. 
Is this really what we are coming to?  Are our priorities really this out of line in our great state?  Should the education of our children and the safety of our citizens not be of the utmost importance?  I just do not understand.  I am so disappointed in our state right now.