UPDATE 7/29: Was the State Board right to approve furloughs?
UPDATE 7/29: Atlanta Public Schools joins several others districts in saying they wont furlough teachers. Read the story here.
UPDATE: As expected, state board members cleared the way for school districts to furlough teachers. Wait there’s more: the unanimous vote gives school districts the opportunity to use up to seven more furlough days.
The State Board of Education is meeting today to vote on amending rules so that any of Georgia’s 182 school districts could change the terms of the teachers’ contracts to allow for furloughs.
Last week, Gov. Sonny Perdue requested that public school districts furlough teachers for three days to save the state about $100 million.
State employees will be furloughed three days and state agencies must cut their budgets by 5 percent because of a $900 million hole in the budget.
Perdue can’t make the districts furlough teachers. But he told system leaders that the amount of money they receive from the state will be cut to reflect furloughs. If schools systems don’t want to furlough, they have to find other places to cut.
Of course, school districts have been slicing and dicing their budgets for years because of austerity cuts and other reductions in state funding.
Some school districts – such as Gwinnett, Forsyth and Cherokee – decided to furlough. Many other systems have done the same, cutting into teachers’ pre-planning time as they prepare for the new school year.
Other systems – such as Cobb and DeKalb – have found other places to cut.
Several systems that furloughed teachers told them not to come in yesterday or today. Teachers, are you still doing work from home?
It’s expected that the state board will approve the change to allow for furloughs. But what message would the board send if they voted it down?
NOTE: The State Board of Regents is expected to take up furloughs and budget cuts for Georgia’s public colleges and universities when it meets Aug. 11 and 12.
STORY HELP: Reporter Nancy Badertscher is looking to speak with private school parents who are using scholarships funded by the tax credit approved by the General Assembly in 2008. If you would like to participate in this story please contact Nancy at nbadertscher@ajc.com.
MORE STORY HELP: A co-worker is writing a back-to-school story looking at who is volunteering in schools. If your PTA or school has an interesting group — whether it be all fathers or all grandparents or employees from a local company — we want to hear from you. Send a note to gstaples@ajc.com if you’d like to participate.
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322 comments Add your comment
Disgusted by Republicans
July 30th, 2009
1:07 pm
Thanks, mocha mamma, for your points.
The sad truth is, Georgia does not care about providing education for its kids. Teachers, Republicans don’t care about us, and they want to make sure we fail. It’s just that simple. CEOs expect to get paid, and they also expect bonuses. Everyone in business explains that people need to be well-compensated to do a good job. But when teachers are expected to work for free (Kathy Cox has said that the furlough is a “technicality”), no one gets upset. Could you imagine something like this happening to teachers in a state like Massachusetts? There would be all sorts of editorials, and the teachers’ unions would never allow this to happen.
In conversations with PAGE (which for my money is completely useless), the representative tried to explain that there simply is not any money to pay teachers. But the reason for this is that our state government is overrun with Republican zealots who look at everything through an ideological lens. They are more interested in making points about how bad teachers are than in being responsible and dealing with problems. Someone asked if anyone is in favor of a tax increase during a recession. I am, for the right people. Let those who benefit the most, pay the most, and let’s get on with things. Businesses in Georgia have one of the lowest tax burdens in America, so let them to step up to the plate and pay more, until things get straightened out. Let those who have been getting all the benefits of Republican ideology step up and pay. Pretty simple.
But I know this is a dream. Until we inconvenience parents (something Sonny and Kathy have not yet done), nothing will happen.
Here’s what I’m doing. I’m trying to coordinate informally with other teachers to make sure that we all get sick on certain days. Ideally, half of the teachers would be ill one day and they other half the next day. Our goal is to greatly exceed whatever savings they think they are going to get through paying our salaries plus sub fees. On one level, I can understand how people might see this as hurting the students, but it is exactly the opposite. Unless we make the Republicans pay for their idiocy (remember, the only value they understand in monetary), then they are going to continue to hit us over and over and over again. If the Republicans cared about the students, they never would have let this happen. They don’t care, and they are not going to act until we make it hurt their pocketbooks.
Teachers, start working together and resist. Fight back. Now.
Goodbye
July 30th, 2009
1:17 pm
I’m a good teacher. I came to teaching from the business world 7 years ago because I felt the need to serve children – to help them learn, experience the joys of education, have fun in school, accomplish amazing feats, read great books, write like never before.
I still want to do that, but the cost has become too great to bear. Too many of our leaders see education as just a big number in a ledger book – another expense to be cut. I’m not sure how many of our leaders even encounter children in their everyday lives, much less a school, university, or educational environment.
Our slow abandonment of education is heartbreaking.
I’ve decided to leave education. Our society and leaders ask for too much and give far too little. I knew that being a teacher would require sacrifice…that was not a problem for me. But now the sacrifice has become too great, the future too bleak to willingly continue. I’ll go back to the business world – maybe not immediately, I understand the difficulties in current job market and economy – but I’ll return to a higher salary and easier work. I won’t like it as much, and I certainly won’t make much of a difference in the lives of children, but I’ll be able to better support my own family.
I’m sorry to you all – leaders, neighbors, friends, children – I’m letting you down, and it breaks my heart. I hope other good teachers will stay, but understand if they can’t. Education is broken.
Nikole
July 30th, 2009
2:20 pm
@ Ernest—-I absolutely agree that ScienceTeacher671’s suggestions should be brought to a broader audience. I am going to do my best publicize these ideas. Everyone else should commit to doing the same.
Cere
July 30th, 2009
3:14 pm
Ernest, I hate to tell you but my school portion of my property taxes went UP! $350. to be exact!
Ernest
July 30th, 2009
3:22 pm
Cere, in the 30032, 30038, and 30058 zip codes in DeKalb, I understand the fair market values of homes went down substantially, which ultimately impacted property taxes. Perhaps other parts of DeKalb saw a slight increase (perhaps due to the elimination of the Homestead Grants) resulting in a net zero change to the budget.
FWIW, there is an article in the 7/30 USA Today regarding the number of folks not paying their property taxes also increasing. You can read this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2009-07-29-delinquent-taxes_N.htm
Ernest
July 30th, 2009
3:25 pm
Nikole, good luck with creating greater awareness of possible solutions. I bet if you came up with one general ‘letter’ and distributed it to several papers and media outlets, it will get attention.,
gw.teacher
July 30th, 2009
3:27 pm
FYI- I am one person and I am on summer break- enjoying the last couple of days of sanity….and blog in the classroom??? do you think I am nuts? i know better than that!!
ScienceTeacher671
July 30th, 2009
3:55 pm
How much is it costing the state to develop the new math curriculum and the associated standardized tests to go along with it, and how much is it costing districts to purchase the new math textbooks needed for the new curriculum?
Old teacher
July 30th, 2009
4:20 pm
DeKalb has become such a joke. You once had a sense of pride to work there. We don’t have retirement funds but we can bus teachers to a meeting that could easily be held on closed circuit tv.
Johnny Brown tried to clean out all the waste at the top in DeKalb; lewis has managed to put it all back in. It is not the building level administrators that are such a waste but the county level. And county positions seem to be added daily What a joke!
Old teacher
July 30th, 2009
4:26 pm
Remember when Ch 2 (I think) did a expose’ on all the retired administrators in DeKalb who were still working? Guess what most still are!
I’d like for someone to do a DeKalb family tree so all the nepotism could be exposed.
Remember the recent “grade changing” tv expose’. Were there ever any reprocussions for the county admin. who was involv ed?
Rosie
July 30th, 2009
5:30 pm
What about all of the waste in state government? People driving state issued vehicles, consultants, cellphones for state employees, unnecessary meetings and conferences, GO FISH. Why not really cut back before doing away with educators salaries?
Who is responsible for school supplies? « iThinkEducation.net!
July 30th, 2009
8:03 pm
[...] time I wonder how many teachers will stop using their own money to pay for these items. Between the furloughs, no raises and increased health care costs, money … VN:F [1.1.8_518]please wait…Rating: [...]
UPDATE 7/29: Was the State Board right to approve furloughs? | Get … | EduDemand.Com
July 31st, 2009
11:56 am
[...] Read more from the original source: UPDATE 7/29: Was the State Board right to approve furloughs? | Get … [...]
tc
July 31st, 2009
11:36 pm
It’s cost $5000 to opt out of a teachers contract in Peach County and the school boards think nothing of furloughing teachers…what a one way street.
A Kindergarten Teacher
August 1st, 2009
3:26 pm
“Until we inconvenience parents (something Sonny and Kathy have not yet done), nothing will happen.”…I agree with this statement.
A Kindergarten Teacher
August 1st, 2009
3:28 pm
An earlier comment of more efficient tax collection sure does seem appropriate.
“FWIW, there is an article in the 7/30 USA Today regarding the number of folks not paying their property taxes also increasing. You can read this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2009-07-29-delinquent-taxes_N.htm“
JDC
August 2nd, 2009
9:00 am
Here is where the state can save $$ in education: 1)REDUCE THEN CAP administrative salaries, especially at the BOE office. 2) Cut custodial services in the summer (most just hang out and watch t.v. in the buildings anyway…sorry, but true!), 3) Reduce txtbook spending, 4) Reduce copies (worksheets from teachers) and more instruction allowing students to take notes or use their own notebook paper OR use technology more effectively to reduce silly copies like word seaches, 5) Reduce athletetic programs….allow communities to provide those outlets…education’s goal should be to educate the masses NOT try to prouduce one star pro athlete every few years – which is the reality, 6) reduce yearly teacher professional learning temporarily – teacher have more annual prof credits to earn that medical doctors!!, 7) eliminate travel expenses to conferences (even just temp.) b/c most just go shopping anyway —use teleconferencing!,
Hey , I have plenty more! State BOE needs to hire me. I’ll take the CAPPED salary.
Cobb Teacher
August 2nd, 2009
10:20 am
Flipper…you are absoutely right. All the comments and yours is my favorite. If I could just count the days that are wasted with the kids running around during “spirit” week, homecoming, this and that…yes school is for socializing as well, but please…how many assemblies do we need where the kids are in the bleachers texting, talking and ignoring the speakers? Let’s jam the cell phones…maybe they will learn.
Daniel Larson
August 2nd, 2009
4:11 pm
To the 25 year veteran Dekalb teacher: When you “lose” something, it is not spelled “loose” (as in a loose wire.) There were several misspellings in your posts — absolutely staggering. That is the problem with Dekalb’s scores. The teachers can’t even spell.
Erty
August 5th, 2009
12:36 am
Conservative Dekalb guy pointed out that he works extra because he wants nice things. I think he needs to realize that being an educator is virtualy a socialist enterprise. We are guaranteed a certain amount of pay for a certain number of days… Actually let me rephrase, we were guaranteed, but apparently government promises aren’t worth the paper they are printed on these days. We do not work extra for more pay, we work extra because if we don’t, your conservative offspring will be short changed in the classroom.
On another note, maybe teachers should rethink our attitude. Maybe since our contracts are basically a joke, maybe we should only work what they pay us for. What would happen to test scores, lessons, and general school conditions if we only worked our 8 hours a day? What would happen if all the prom duties, student clubs, and other extra curriculars were not covered by teachers. The state would be in an uproar. Unfortunately that will never happen, because leaving things incomplete, and poorly done is an idea that would stick in the gut of every educator worth a flip. If the state of Georgia and more importantly politicians, do not realize what a valuable comodity educators are, they may see what hardships in education really are.
deankirkland
August 29th, 2009
3:28 pm
New here. Wanted to introduce myself.
Thanks,
Dean Kirkland
[url=http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/dean-kirkland-fed-focusing-on-realestate-recession-as-fomc-meets-1115841.html]Dean Kirkland[/url]
vmqgr
January 27th, 2010
12:46 pm
Cut down the tree that you are able to
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