Teachers concerned about more than Milestones tests

Teachers have a lot to be concerned about, particularly right now. In schools all across the state, their students are taking the Georgia Milestones Assessment Tests. In the very near future, these tests will not only determine students’ futures but most likely will be used to access teacher effectiveness as well.

This is a critical time for Georgia educators, not just because of testing, but also the governor’s efforts to reform education. That reform seems to be coming from a standpoint of what will save money rather than what is good for the education of the state’s children.

During Gov. Nathan Deal’s State of the State speech this year, he proposed a 3-percent raise for teachers. This was welcomed news. But we shouldn’t parse what the governor said. It’s much better to read his own words:

“Over the past five years, members of this General Assembly and I have shown our appreciation for our teachers by making public education a priority, and we will do so again this year by appropriating an additional $300 million for K-12 education, which is more than is required to give teachers a 3-percent pay raise.

“We will distribute this money to your local school system under the existing QBE formula, but it is our intention that your local school system pass the 3-percent pay raise along to you. If that does not happen, it will make it more difficult next year for the state to grant local systems more flexibility in the expenditure of state education dollars, as recommended by the Education Reform Commission.

“We have given local school systems large increases in funding for the past three years and given them the flexibility to decide how to spend it. Based on a survey by the State Department of Education, 94 percent of school systems used those funds to reduce or eliminate furlough days. With the additional funding this year, furloughs should be a thing of the past and teachers should receive that 3-percent pay raise.”

Here are the problems with those statements. While the state has increased education funding, the governor forgets that more than $6 billion was sucked out of the education budget. Although he would like to pat himself and his legislative colleagues on the back, the restored funding still doesn’t meet QBE formula levels. It never has.

School systems across the state are wrestling with their budgets this time of year, and funding is still an issue. In Bibb County, it was proposed to give teachers a one-time bonus that would have amounted to 3 percent. That strategy was taken because a bonus doesn’t add to the long-term salary costs of the district. But as Bibb County school Superintendent Curtis Jones explained, the additional state money wasn’t enough to cover other requirements and pay for the bonus.

The governor could have just as easily put the salary increase in his budget, but he didn’t. Now the school districts are stuck with the governor’s shell game and have to try to make it work. And there is no end in sight. Next year the governor will unveil his version of the reforms developed from his appointed Education Reform Commission. Don’t expect it to look anything like the final report from the various committees.

And that is why a survey of more than 53,000 teachers from across the state revealed startling results:

• More than 44 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years, and 16 percent fewer students are entering the state’s teacher preparation programs.

• Only 2.7 percent of teachers would recommend teaching to someone entering college.

It will be interesting to watch the push for the constitutional amendment on November’s ballot seeking approval for the misnamed “opportunity school” district. It will be an opportunity for some people, but we doubt it will be a better opportunity for students.

This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Teachers concerned about more than Milestones tests."