Funding Education

[SXSW]

In case you didn't see it what everyone knew was coming happened today, 256 first year teachers were laid off at Tulsa Public Schools.  This is on top of the 33 that will be laid off at Jenks and I'm sure we'll hear of other districts announcing the same.  The main culprit is that the state is cutting funding up to 10% and the shortfall has affected school budgets statewide.  What are some solutions to increasing state funding?  Or do we wait until the economy improves and go from there?  I don't have a full understanding of the whole situation but it doesn't look good.  I know just about every state is in the same situation but it's the ones that figure out ways to overcome it that will come out better in the end. 

I am surprised the Tulsa Community Foundation and the Tulsa Public Schools Foundation did not publicly announce they are going to donate funds to save at least some of the first year teachers.  It seems like there could have been more options to solicit community support.  I know I would donate to a 'Save our Teachers' fund. 

[Gaspar]

Unfortunately this is not a short term fix, so short term solutions will not produce positive long term results. 

[Cats Cats Cats]

Hard to believe 2^8 teachers weren't needed.

[Conan71]

This got me to thinking about the other thread we have going on about education and metropolitan areas.  Sorry, mini-rant about unions coming on:

How many of these first year teachers might have the potential to be the best educators we've got on payroll?  Teacher's jobs are being protected based on tenure, not performance or merit.  The teacher's unions along with other public service unions (the recent police layoffs anyone?) help protect some of the lowest hanging fruit while sacrificing some of the brightest new talent.  There's no doubt in my mind there are teachers with 10, 20, or even 30 plus years of service who have been able to coast along picking up a paycheck while adding little to the education system.  Most certainly there are long-term educators who are great teachers who might have not started out so great but grew into the job.  I do not believe union educators are inherently bad, but I do believe the system, as it is, does nothing to ensure better results.  All it does is help with job retention for senior staff members.  People talk about spending more money on education but it doesn't come with any stipulations for better results. 

IMO, if we expect better results in public education, then find and retain the best teachers but create a measurable yardstick for each and every discipline to reward successful teachers.  Yes, you can even figure out a fair way to do this in under-performing schools where the parental involvement is virtually nil.  I have no problem paying teachers more money, but to pay it simply because they ask for it is entirely the wrong way to expect better results.  Make it merit-based and see what happens.

Simple disclosure: I'm not a union fan and no one in my immediate family ever was a union member.  Hammer away...

[SXSW]

President Obama supports merit pay which, in theory, will reward the better teachers regardless of union affiliation.  Of course it is difficult to gauge in some schools where the teacher could be great but the students just don't care.  

I know there is growing support in Washington for an 'education stimulus' that would aim to avoid many of the teacher layoffs around the country.  Hopefully it happens and provides the short-term fix that is needed.  It seems premature for TPS and others to already announce teacher layoffs before a decision is made by the feds.  As long as the economy continues to improve so should the prospects of returning education funding, at the state level, back to pre-recession levels.  Oklahoma is in a better position than many states in this regard due to oil/gas revenues which should increase but the state still does not fund education as well as it should.  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051305219.html?hpid=topnews

I see where Kansas has raised its state sales tax 1% to help fund education and other programs that were going to see major cuts.  Would Oklahoma consider something like that?  

http://education.gaeatimes.com/2010/05/13/kansas-cuts-against-red-state-image-gop-rhetoric-by-raising-sales-tax-to-plug-budget-gap-3468/

[Cats Cats Cats]

Well somewhere down the line, we would have to get the Mayor to actually apply for the funds for Tulsa.

[Conan71]

Well somewhere down the line, we would have to get the Mayor to actually apply for the funds for Tulsa.

I don't think that's correct.  TPS operates independent of the city, regardless what mayoral candidates say about being all about better education.  Any grant requests would come from TPS or the state, I believe.

Besides, if Mayor Bartlet's (sic) office had to apply for grant funds, his Chief of Staff would simply lie about what he knew and when he knew it.

[Cats Cats Cats]

I don't think that's correct.  TPS operates independent of the city, regardless what mayoral candidates say about being all about better education.  Any grant requests would come from TPS or the state, I believe.

Besides, if Mayor Bartlet's (sic) office had to apply for grant funds, his Chief of Staff would simply lie about what he knew and when he knew it.

Glad to hear we could skip the lying part of getting the money.

[pmcalk]

President Obama supports merit pay which, in theory, will reward the better teachers regardless of union affiliation.  Of course it is difficult to gauge in some schools where the teacher could be great but the students just don't care.  

I know there is growing support in Washington for an 'education stimulus' that would aim to avoid many of the teacher layoffs around the country.  Hopefully it happens and provides the short-term fix that is needed.  It seems premature for TPS and others to already announce teacher layoffs before a decision is made by the feds.  As long as the economy continues to improve so should the prospects of returning education funding, at the state level, back to pre-recession levels.  Oklahoma is in a better position than many states in this regard due to oil/gas revenues which should increase but the state still does not fund education as well as it should.  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/13/AR2010051305219.html?hpid=topnews

I see where Kansas has raised its state sales tax 1% to help fund education and other programs that were going to see major cuts.  Would Oklahoma consider something like that?  

http://education.gaeatimes.com/2010/05/13/kansas-cuts-against-red-state-image-gop-rhetoric-by-raising-sales-tax-to-plug-budget-gap-3468/

It might seem premature, but I believe that TPS is required (maybe via union contract?) to send out notices of non-renewal by a certain date.  Currently, there isn't even a budget, so Ballard is simply going off the projected budget cut of 10%.  If the cut is less, he can always rehire the teachers.  But past a certain date, I believed that contracts are deemed to be renewed.

[highschooljim2]

I heard they are trying to limit education cuts to 5% at max. A great myth is that the union protects bad teachers. I went to a conference and heard a lawyer say that he could fire the teacher of the year if he wanted to and the union coudn't say boo about it. You just have to follow procedures. The best way to "save teachers" is to contact your legislators and tell them how you feel. It's a joke we are two weeks from the end of the legislative session and don't have a budget. By law teachers have to be notified by June 1st about non-renewal. TPS is just wanting to prepare their teaches for the worst. A 10% cut would result in 5,000 layoffs statewide, or 1 in 9 teachers losing their jobs. This would be a signifigant reduction in the state workforce. Harkin from Iowa has introdced the $23 million package in Congress to help out nationally.

[nathanm]

A great myth is that the union protects bad teachers.

Everybody screws up on occasion, thus it's always possible to fire somebody if you have patience.

[SXSW]

I heard they are trying to limit education cuts to 5% at max. A great myth is that the union protects bad teachers. I went to a conference and heard a lawyer say that he could fire the teacher of the year if he wanted to and the union coudn't say boo about it. You just have to follow procedures. The best way to "save teachers" is to contact your legislators and tell them how you feel. It's a joke we are two weeks from the end of the legislative session and don't have a budget. By law teachers have to be notified by June 1st about non-renewal. TPS is just wanting to prepare their teaches for the worst. A 10% cut would result in 5,000 layoffs statewide, or 1 in 9 teachers losing their jobs. This would be a signifigant reduction in the state workforce. Harkin from Iowa has introdced the $23 million package in Congress to help out nationally.

That is good idea to email/call our state legislators and let them know that a 10% cut in state education funding is too much.  Hopefully the 'education stimulus' is passed and provides some federal help for teachers before it's too late.

[Conan71]

I heard they are trying to limit education cuts to 5% at max. A great myth is that the union protects bad teachers. I went to a conference and heard a lawyer say that he could fire the teacher of the year if he wanted to and the union coudn't say boo about it. You just have to follow procedures.

Bluff and bluster from the attorney.  Where did those procedures come from?  Unions, not school boards. 

[shadows]

It is another crisis where we are building highways to be able to commute between points where cars will be able to compete with the air traffic?  In the background is the stage coach waiting for its reincarnation in a world that progress has moved forward in its forever changing pace.  Several articles have been written and TW contributed a portion of a page to the changes that are possible in the education system.  The computer has made the system obsolete whereas at instant recall it has available the combined knowledge of hundreds of unneeded teachers in the local schools.  Of course it could be used for knowledge not for home runs or recording nonexistent goals.  While much of the world is moving forward with the computer replacing the teachers we have over produced in that profession.  When Greece exchanged knowledge for playing sports the Romans merely walked in and took over.  We are presently at the cross roads where we must shape up and recognize that the old dial land line phone is being replace with progress.  So it be that the time is now to update a system that is failing and create other government jobs for the teachers.  
 

[highschooljim2]

Shadows makes teachers seem like displaced workers, like farm workers displaced by the combine, or an icehouse worker displaced by a freezer. Trust me even if all education was computerized you would have to have a human monitor because if not all kids would do would be playing video games, watching videos, and maybe the more intelligent ones reading a forum such as this. There is a place for online education but not for every single student. Conan as you probably know many non union workplaces have steps before they fire someone, such as a writeup or suspension of somekind. In college I worked a telemarketing job (yeah I know) and was suspended for 3 days without pay because a woman I called cussed at me and I cussed back. I served my suspension but was not fired and came back after 3 days. At my wife's work there are similar steps taken before someone is fired, it is a professional job and also non-union. Teacher can get fired for things just like any other job, and the process is similar to many other types of jobs.