Julian Walker
The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Educators are fed up.
That's the message superintendents from across the commonwealth carried to the capital Tuesday.
Faced with budget cuts again this year, they held a news conference to "speak out on behalf of the children of Virginia" and tell the governor and lawmakers that "enough is enough."
The tough talk came the same day Gov. Bob McDonnell rolled out two legislative proposals that educators aren't keen on.
One would create a pilot program to provide competitive grants for hard-to-staff school systems. Under that program, performance pay incentives of as much as $5,000 would be available to teachers at those schools. McDonnell wants $3 million to pay for it during the next school year.
The governor hopes the grants will attract good teachers to schools that have deficiencies.
Among the shortcomings that could land a school on the hard-to-staff list are accreditation concerns, lower-than-average attendance, high proportions of special education students or those who aren't proficient in English, and a high percentage of teachers with provisional licenses or limited classroom experience.
Nearly a dozen schools in Norfolk and Portsmouth would be eligible, according to a list released by the governor's office.
The other initiative would establish tax credits for companies that donate toward scholarships to send lower-income students to private schools. The credit would be capped at $25 million annually in a bill sponsored by Del. Jimmie Massie, R-Henrico, and Del. Algie T. Howell Jr., D-Norfolk.
Massie carried similar legislation last year that died in the Senate. The current proposal was dismissed Tuesday by educators.
"It's ironic. You're saying, 'Let's fund private schools as we defund public schools,' " Virginia Education Association lobbyist Robley Jones said of McDonnell's scholarship tax credit plan, noting the governor's budget amendments amount to about $50 million less for public education in the current spending plan.
Jones said the tax credit measure would put public schools in competition with private schools for corporate donations. He also argued that scholarships awarded under that program probably wouldn't cover all the tuition costs for needy students.
Responding to educators' concerns, McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said the governor "is committed to bringing innovation to our public school system, and more opportunities to all Virginia's school children" as illustrated by his successful advocacy for charter school and laboratory school legislation last year.
But superintendents said the slice of general fund money dedicated to K-12 education will drop to less than 30 percent in fiscal 2012 under the budget being proposed by McDonnell. In 2009, that percentage was closer to 35, they said.
Faced with federal dollars drying up as well, schools have already cut their own budgets "to the bone," said Phil Worrell, president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. "There is nothing left to cut that won't negatively affect the quality of the education that we provide."
According to a survey of the state's 133 school divisions, roughly half say they've already reduced or eliminated some instructional or elective programs, and canceled or delayed plans to order new textbooks or computers; 65 percent said they've had to increase their class sizes.
At the same time, according to the educators, state and federal requirements have only increased. During this school year, teachers and support staff are expected to file and verify 76 data reports. In 2010, superintendents received 315 memos directing them to address specific issues or tasks.
Educators said they are tired of being asked to do more with less, particularly at a time when state revenues are rebounding and the governor has set the goal of pumping an additional 100,000 degrees out of Virginia colleges and universities over the next 15 years.
That's not going to happen without an investment in basic education, said Pam Moran, the association's president-elect.
Joanne Kimberlin, (804) 697-1561, joanne.kimberlin@pilotonline.com
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Contracting out teacher and staff service for public schools can
and is being done K-12. Contract a secular private system to use a city school building yet salaries are those less then city school board salaries. Parents follow the participation rules at that school. To suggest that poor folks can not,will not,or have not do such is a biased
position. McKinnley Elementry in Calif. is now moving that way and is primarily low income. Cities contract out streets,buildings,janitorial,landscaping,sewage etc. why not schools? Take the savings and apply them to academic needs of the non-contracted schools. Currently selected Sp. Ed services are contracted out;however
some of these contractors are paying their staff city schools salaries. This won't work has to be less than school board salaries.
The pilot publishes school board salaries,review of this data
will show teacher salaries from the low 70's to $10,000 bracket. Also teaching levels are published. It also reflects upper executives,clerks,
trades,assistants,bus drivers as so on...all 11,000 plus school board staff.I have been in cities where most of the trades,groundskeepers,construction inspectors and many more positions have been eliminated and picked up by the city budgeted departments;then teacher salaries have been increased while cuts continued on the city budget side along with pay freezes to lessen the cuts on schools sides.
Teachers still cried and continue to cry now.Pay now or later for education cuts;that certianly is true. I have also been in cities where the teachers were contracted out and not at school board salaries.
keep them cuts coming
The education budget has long been a deep black hole of wasted money under the disguise of "education". It's all been a blather of higher salaries for low quality teachers, polically correct special ed programs, and lavishly designed over the top school buildings. Yet the eduation levels of our kids especially in the basics, continue to go down hill. The education world needs to get back to concentrating on the basics and eliminating low quality teachers. Also to take away control of budgets from the "educators" and put it in the hands of trained adminsitrators with a business background to help eliminate the wasteful "feel good" projects that continue in the name of justifying these HUGE budgets. They need to "Do More With Less".
Administrators who do not work in the school houses, bye
Way too much operating expenses in our local school districts- just look at the blue pages in the phone book? Who are these people. They take money out of the classroom, which is where the education dollars belong. And what is with some schools having as many as four Vice Principals. More big bucks wasted for dealing with stupid parents! Want your kid in school, follow strict dress and behavior codes or you are out the door, get rid of backpacks, security, and stick to Reading, Writing, math, science and basic history. Get over the rest! Students failing, send them to a job apprentice program or jail!
The miseducation of our citizens
The irony of this entire debate is that the truth of the matter is that we will either have to pay now or pay later. If we allocate greater resources on the front end to educate our children and grow them into productive citizens, we will not have to support so many of them when they are old enough to turn their backs on society and engage in anti-social, negative behavior that will result in them being incarcerated at taxpayers'expense. We are so eager to pay for incarceration for years, but yet refuse to spend the same somes on education where we stand a better chance at receiving a return on our investment. Do not get it twisted, we will pay one way or the other! My hope is that our decision-makers will decide to spend wisely-Educate!
Find a Middle Ground
There is no viable alternative to public education. Charter schools and private schools can meet some level of demand but not for all children. To avoid the re-segregation of schools by family income, the educational bureaucracy and state and local governments must find a middle ground. This yet to be developed middle ground must balance a continuing need for adequate state funding with the absolute need for "education" to be open to innovative service delivery models. The Governor has never been a friend of public education and his proposed selective scholarship programs don't address the core issues. But the educational bureaucracy cannot continue to make their case with an education model that has changed little since the 1800's.
Well something changed
I posted details earlier but there was no nationwide failure of public education when I went through it. Some kids did better than others but basically all of us did just fine in a rural county that certainly didn’t have a bunch of money to throw at it.
Enough is Enough.....Pt 1.
McD has never been & never will be a "friend" of public schools.
Va ranks high in per capita income, but in the the recent Educ Week's Quality counts report, the Commonwealth ranks near the botttom in taxable income spent on education.
I have to laugh...just goes to show how poorly paid teachers are when $5000 is considered an "incentive" to leave one school division for another high-risk, low-achieving district.
If tax credits are given to business for additional support of schools, as a teacher, a taxpayer, and a parent I'm losing 3 times. I don't get a raise, my taxes aren't spent on something I support, and my kids get a second rate education.
Barrett is correct about PR...and I have told the VEA, the VB Super, Jay Mathews (WaPo).
And....
I can sympathize w/ the Super's only so much. I can only speak to VB as I have seen them piddle away big $$. Last yr VB spent $11M on Promethean Bds just so the CC couldn't take it. They could have given employees a raise which would have meant more spent on goods & services in VB as well as additional sales taxes collected-which goes back to schools. Oh! And did I mention that the bulbs for the projectors cost $400 a piece? It's not about kids-it's about keeping score.
It's Jan & the boards are still not working properly. One consultant after another comes through every other wk to see if they can fix the things.
The year before, they spent $$ on 200 books for each classroom--tchrs were never asked if they wanted or needed them.
More money won't fix education
Someone put it correctly that if it isn't happening at home, no amount of money is going to help a child learn. You had big government stepping in with more funding nearly every fiscal year in exchange for mandating rigidity, conformity, and standardization. Now witness one of the results - a national dropout rate of 30% (Manhatten Inst) with some 68% of the state inmates as dropouts. They complete their education in the street "majoring" in robbery, violence and mayhem. How is throwing even more money at education going to reverse that? We would probably have a better impact on a child's education by taking some of those funds and getting some of their parents into a good parenting skills class.