22875

22875

Have you ever just wanted to go up to the top of a mountain and scream,

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING???????”

When I listen to state legislators callously calling for reductions in state support for public school education with the same emotion as they would use to pass a junked car ordinance, I’m deeply saddened. Unfortunately, we live today in that state. Education has passed from the world of savvy investment to the world of over-cooked commodity. In a floundering economy, we, public school educators, possess the large target that the partisan political warriors have been hoping to detonate for so many years.

Virginia is a governmentally peculiar state. By law, our governors may only serve one four-year term. This arbitrary rule may change in the near future. There is legislative movement to alter the rule to allow a governor to run for reelection. Another bizarre governmental quirk in Virginia is that the governor must present a budget to the General Assembly at unusual times. The new governor’s first budget is due at the end of the second year of the term and the second budget is due as the term expires after four years. How realistic is it to expect a new governor from a different political party to accept and adopt a budget prepared by his predecessor?

Governor Tim Kaine, recently replaced in the position by Bob McDonnell, presented his lame-duck budget in December. In it, Kaine had the audacity to ask for a state income tax increase to help offset the gigantic negative state revenue numbers. Even with the tax increase, Kaine’s budget would UNFUND the state’s share for 14,375 public school education jobs. These are jobs that are mandated by the state‘s own standards of quality (SOQ).

What is this “State Share?” According to JLARC (the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission), the state pays localities about 55% of the cost of each mandated education position. In past years, the battle we generally had at the state level was in determining exactly what positions the state would fund. For years, many necessary teaching positions were excluded from the state formula, leaving the localities to pick up 100% of the tab. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a better reconciliation of state support in relation to the localities’ needs. With Governor Kaine’s budget proposal, all that progress will be permanently erased, if approved by the General Assembly.

However, Governor Kaine has left office and the new governor, Bob McDonnell, has been elected by the citizens to take charge. Governor McDonnell has the opportunity to amend Governor Kaine’s budget. He could choose to lessen the drastic impact on public school education; however, McDonnell has point blank stated that he will not support ANY tax increase. With Delegate Morgan Griffith (Salem), House of Delegates Majority Leader, on his side, McDonnell is in a strong position to carry out his pledge.

So what will happen? Will the state budget be pushed through with no infusion of revenue as suggested by Governor Bob McDonnell? If so, according to the State Senate Finance Committee, funding for 22, 875 education jobs will be abolished. That means 22,875 public school education jobs will go unfunded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

What will localities do? They will have to make tough choices. Can they afford to fund all 22,875 positions? Can they make up the 55% share that the state will vacate? Do they have any untapped revenue sources? The answer to each question is, sadly, no.

Silly Little Secrets.

Virginians, relatively speaking, have it pretty good. According to the latest statistics, Virginia ranks 7^th in the nation in per-capita family income. That’s right…7^th. Virginia also ranks 31^st in teacher salaries and 37^th in per pupil spending. Taxes. You always hear about taxes, right? Well, comparatively speaking, Virginia is a low tax state. In 2008, Virginia ranked 41^st out of all 50 states with 5.7% of personal income devoted to state taxes. The national average is 6.7%. Facts are facts.

We aren’t living in reasonable times. As we approach the 100% line of perfection for NCLB, educators know very well the effort required to make it this far. We’ve revamped everything we do so that our children can meet the federal standards. Yet, the “Average Joe” believes that public schools are a failure. That failure message, hammered into the social consciousness over and over since Education Secretary Bell released the historic “A Nation At Risk” report in April of 1983, haunts the whispered background of today’s public school education discussions. How is it possible for schools to have met every challenge placed before them and yet still be chained with failure?

Without a doubt, we live in challenging financial times. Tough decisions will need to be made by legislators and supervisors on the state and local levels to determine how completely education will be supported. Lost in the discussion is the simple fact that education is the bedrock of a strong, vibrant, and free society. Virginia has a constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding for our schools.

Today’s children are being torn in so many directions, yet public schools are the one constant in the lives of many children. Gutting our educational program now would have a devastating impact on those we hold dear- our future, our present.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING???????”

That’s what I scream in my quiet moments when I have time to think.

Thom Ryder

RCEA Executive Board

So you stayed with this editorial so far…want more information? Visit some of these websites and learn more about the politics of money that will affect everything we do for children.

VEA Daily Reports: Follow the actions at the General Assembly as they relate to public school education. Updated regularly! http://www.veadailyreports.com/

VEA: The main site for the Virginia Education Association. Full of excellent information and member benefits. http://www.veanea.org/

RCEA Blog: Updated when time permits with stories and commentary. http://rcea4.blogspot.com/

More Than A Bubble

More Than a Bubble

Well, here we are approaching another American Education Week, the annual week devoted to our profession where honors are bestowed, expressions of appreciation are extended, and reflection is encouraged. Such reflection, as you might expect, is inevitable. How do we feel about the state of our professional lives? In the current environment in which we are asked to do increasingly more with less and for less as inflation eats away at our modest compensation and as funding for our retirement seems vulnerable to negative economic realities, it is often hard to focus on the realities of what we are charged to do. The pressures that we sometimes feel to perform tasks often at odds with our professional experience and personal philosophies can be depressing and demoralizing.

I say take a few moments to ponder the real good that we do in spite of the shifting currents in which we are caught. We are, happily and reverently, in the position of shaping the future of the world. Our responsibility for influencing the lives, personalities and values of future generations is peerless. Think of each time you have witnessed a light bulb suddenly illuminating above a child’s head, each time a child has confided something deeply moving- filling you with the knowledge of your influence, and the ponderous sense of responsibility that you share with your peers in the world of education. How often have parents expressed their gratitude for what you have done with your life? These are the benefits of our profession. Yes, it’s great to have health benefits and, potentially, a pension waiting for us as well as a steady paycheck and a restful summer layoff. But we all know, those of us who remain in education, that we’re not in it for the money. There is no compensation like the feeling of proudly being called teacher. It isn’t just the teachers who wield influence and express a caring function in the lives of young people. Support personnel, administrators, kitchen staff, bus drivers, custodians, and all other school employees alike have equal opportunities to make a difference in the lives of children, thereby shaping the future.

Sometimes when you least expect it and are most in need of it, something will happen that brings you back to life; gives you an opportunity for a kind of mini-apostasy. Something will remind you that what you do has meant something to the life experience of some other person. Recently, I had such an experience. I was contacted by a student whom I taught many years ago near the beginning of my career. The student had been particularly challenging. I feel comfortable in saying this because the student admitted as much in their letter to me. In fact, it was in the form of an apology for engaging in difficult behavior in my classroom. Without going into detail, I learned that I had had a positive influence on this student. There have been other such experiences over the course of my career. Each time I feel a little taken aback as I had not really taken notice of making any significant impact in the day-to-day ordinariness of things.

So, while it is tempting to dwell in the darkness of what makes teaching among the most stressful of jobs, it may be worthwhile to take time to experience the things which make this the most joyful of professions. While these are difficult times, they are also profoundly hopeful times. We are powerful in our ability to make things better. The future will reflect the way in which we weather the storms of our time. Wishing you all well. Happy American Education Week.

~Tim Summers
RCEA Vice President