The choice: Higher taxes or lower expectations for schools
Is a time for a tax increase to keep our schools afloat?
Last night, parents crammed a DeKalb meeting protesting an end to magnet programs and theme schools. (I arrived for the end, but the place had been full of unhappy parents.)
Also, Cobb school superintendent Fred Sanderson told the school board Thursday night that teachers would need to take three furlough days this semester; Sanderson targeted Feb. 15 – there are no classes on that day — and wants to also apply the snow day earlier this month and the flood day in September. He said Cobb will not be able to turn to reserves to prevent furloughs this semester as it did in the fall. See the AJC story.
A few desperate districts outside of Metro are joining Peach County and adopting four-day work weeks. Others are dropping back to 160 days of longer classes.
In the last week, I have attended three hearings about education budgets. I don’t believe we can ask schools to sustain or improve quality of instruction at the same time that they are facing such crippling cuts. This is not a matter of getting rid of a few central office staff- which I think some systems could easily do. The cuts exceed a few personnel. They are colossal, and I just don’t see how they are not going to downgrade our classrooms.
We need a combination of responses – Yes, reduce expenses but also bring in new money. Yet, our Legislature is talking about more corporate and employer tax breaks.
Is it the time for that? Or should we follow the example of most other states and raise taxes?
Many of you disagree, but I think this a pivotal moment in the state’s history. We have to shed the reputation of an education backwater and signify in a clear way that we understand that the states that succeed in this new century will be the most educated, the most able to respond to change and the most willing to confront problems decisively and honestly.
Raising class size, cutting back on the school calendar and dumping teachers doesn’t seem to say any of that to the larger world, too much of which readily believes we are eating clay and marrying our cousins down here.
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210 comments Add your comment
ScienceTeacher671
January 30th, 2010
9:07 pm
Gwinnett Parent, does the private school accept special needs students, including those who can’t feed themselves or take care of their own toileting? Does the private school provide transportation for the students who live more than a mile away? Does the private school have a library, a cafeteria, a football field, and a gymnasium? Is the private school located in church facilities and/or subsidized by a church or other group? Are students required to buy their own textbooks and workbooks, and do they have to pay fees for lab supplies in science classes?
There are a number of things public schools normally provide for all “free of charge” that private schools do not provide.
Kim
January 30th, 2010
11:38 pm
I have been reading the post from the past two days and the only thing I can feel is fear. Fear for my immediate circumstances, but also fear for the future of this state and country. I have been teaching for twenty years and I will earn a doctorate degree in a few weeks. At that point I will make a salary comparable to many “smart” college grads that have chosen some other profession. Many of the comments are reflective of at least one failing of the public schools with respect to the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Citizens have the responsibility for paying taxes. Taxes fund public services. Citizens then have the right to access public services. If you think you should not incur a property tax increase because you don’t have children, then you are quite short sighted. Everyone should be interested in the quality of schools because the students of today will have far more influence on the future than any adult. They will be the doctors, lawyers, teachers, politician, garbage collectors etc. Whether you believe teachers deserve a pay cut or a raise, you can believe this. You can’t get something for nothing and you always get what you pay for. This country’s attitude toward education really does reflect an epidemic of the worst kind, ignorance and apathy. We would rather pay athletes and actors unspeakable salaries instead of paying educators for their significant contribution to society. It has taken over forty years to develop a solid research base of effective teaching practices. The debate over teaching as an art or science is settled. Teaching is a science. Currently, teachers are REQUIRED to operate as “scientist of instruction”. Theoretically, increased instructional scrutiny will weed out incompetent teachers and only the best and the brightest will remain. But at the rate we are going the best and the brightest are not going to stick around for inadequate pay and a society that blames teachers for the state of public schools. Then you and our children will be stuck with the mediocre and substandard. Teaching is my passion, but it is also how I support my family. My husband is also an educator, so the suggested cuts would have an even greater effect on our household. Like many of you, who are not educators, we also have a mortgage payment,car payment, medical expenses… Like many of you we want the best for our children. We have chosen a profession that allows us to serve children and society for humble compsensation. Now we face financial crisis or a career change. What would you choose?
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January 31st, 2010
5:51 am
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January 31st, 2010
1:45 pm
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Gwinnett Parent
February 1st, 2010
8:53 am
Science Teacher 671-The school has a library, gymnasium(it was packed to the gills w/ parents), and a cafeteria. Since it is k-8 there is not a football field. It was pouring rain when I went and parking was at a premium, so it was hard to check out the outdoor athletic facilities. It was amazing how many parents showed up for the open house. They have P.E. class and it appeared that they had a lot of land. There are no special ed kids or mainstreaming the sp.ed into the avg classroom and parents are responsible for transportation. They do not appear to have accomodations for ESOL. Textbooks and fees are included in the 6k. Students have an entrance exam, so yes they have less hassles than the avg public school. Just saying…you can find a quality private school that is not in a basement and costs less than 20k.
jim d
February 1st, 2010
9:26 am
“our Legislature is talking about more corporate and employer tax breaks”
An excellent idea to stimulate the economy.
If you want new taxes go ahead and create them and lets catch the money going thru the state.
How about we create and earmark for education
A. penny tax on every gallon of fuel purchased in the state.
B. a 2-3$ a nite motel room tax
C a $.50 tax on tickets for entertainment venues.
there are methods of raising the funding needed without damaging our economy and these would for all basic principles be voluntary taxes—-
want to drive thru the state–pay—
want to stay the nite—-pay
want to party and have a good time—-pay
There are literally hundreds of millions of barrels of oil sold in Georgia every month.
Just the amount of money that could be raised with a fuel tax would more than pay our educational needs
ClaytonCounty Resident
February 1st, 2010
10:37 am
As 2010 is an election year, state legislatures are unlikely to take any significant action to raise taxes therefore state departments of education and local boards of education will have to take action to address budget deficits. If readers will go to http://aei.org/event/100164, this website provides interesting insights into what school districts are doing to survive in the short term and also addressing educational reforms in the long term.
Warrior Woman
February 1st, 2010
1:28 pm
There should be no tax increase when there is still significant “fluff” in school budgets. Take Cobb, for example. There are at least 10 assistant and associate superintendents, plus an executive director of student support and a chief accountability and research officer. One would think that there is not a need for both an associate superintendent of “leadership and learning” AND a “leadership management” unit within human resources reporting to another superintendent. Similarly , one should wonder why, if Cobb has an assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, they also need an entire structure – again reporting elsewhere – dedicated to student reporting systems, program evaluation, accountability, testing and assessment.
There is a Chief Financial Officer and a SPLOST Officer – it certainly seems as if SPLOST accountability could be handled by the CFO structure, and project management within the existing facilities structure. There is a communications director and a community relations director. The list of duplicative units goes on and on.
And don’t get me started on the expensive curriculum changes to unproven methods. Yet another example of waste.
Further, despite assertions to the contrary, teachers are well paid when you consider the hours worked and the benefits. Consider the 10 month teaching position currently posted on the Cobb County website. The salary range is $36,048 to $82,088. This is the equivalent of $43,258 to $98,506 for a standard (12-month) salary. In addition, the county offers medical, dental, vision, life, cancer, and disability insurance; tax-deferred savings plans; and retirement plans. This is substantially better than the salary and benefits offered to many workers outside of education. Cobb County teachers are looking at 3 furlough days for the 2010-2011 school year, compared to 8 furlough days for state employees.
In short, times are hard everywhere, not just for teachers. As long as the school system’s financial house isn’t in order, the tax burden shouldn’t be raised on other hurting people to benefit the schools.
ClaytonCounty Resident
February 1st, 2010
6:40 pm
To Warrior Woman, I agree with your comments. The symbiotic relationship between Boards of education and Superintendents are detrimental to educational excellence. When BOE’s lack the intellectual capacity and capability to challenge “business as usual”, then its hard to tighten belts on bloated if not pregnant Administrative costs within the educational system. One has to wonder if our respective districts are an “educational system” or an “employment system”. It is simply insane to think we can do the same old things, the same old way and expect different results.
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February 5th, 2010
7:37 am
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