State Superintendent?

The news paper had an article the other day stating that Bradley Byrne was considering the position as Superintendent of Education for the state. I wonder what that would  mean to teachers and their rights and benefits?

Pay Raise?

Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery was quoted in the Alabama School Journal as saying: "I think asking (educators) to contribute a little more toward their retirement is certainly economically doable. The most important thing we want to do is meet education needs of students, and we felt like a 2.5 percent increase after the past nine years of raises is a reasonable request."

Ok, where do I go, who do I see about getting all my back pay because I haven't seen a raise since... well, I can't remember the last raise!

Computer problems

When you want to blog and your computer breaks, guess what? You can't blog. As I now have my computer  back we can resume the process. If there is another lengthy break it's because I am tending to my new grand child.

Appointed vs Elected Superintendents

I saw an interesting piece last night on the local news. They discussed the pros and cons of elected vs appointed superintendents. Appointed superintendents are at the whim of the school board and that may affect the way they approach their job. They are usually higher paid and receive perks like automobiles for their use. One superintendent they talked about received three months of free housing while he looked for a job. Moving expenses are also often covered. They also receive the same benefits the teachers receive like health insurance, etc.
Elected superintendents are not usually paid as much as their appointed counterparts, and they are not liable to be as influenced as by the desires of the school board. Their benefits are not usually as good. They receive the benefits that the state workers get, and they won't be given a car.
So, which is the best?

From the Illinios Education Association

Those who can, teach,


those who cannot pass laws about teaching.

SB 310

Phil Mitchell a state senator sent an email highlighting the important points of the newly revised "Tenure Bill:"
Teachers of Alabama might just be interested...

       Tenure is maintained at 3 years.

-          Terminations must be well founded and cannot be derived from ill will or malice.

-          Employees may appeal as a matter of right, with multiple layers of appellate consideration, all of which are neutral and separate from the local School Board.

-          Appeals are now scheduled to last only 60 days as opposed to the current average of 233 days. During that 60-day period employees will continue to receive pay and benefits except for terminations related to criminal activity.

-          Terminations for lack of student performance have been deleted from the Bill.

-          Transfers must occur within a narrow window of time in the school year, and within the feeder system that the employee works within. (i.e. a teacher that works at a middle school may be transferred to the elementary school that is affiliated.)

-          Reductions in Force are not appealable. But a RIF can only occur if 1) The enrollment of the school system has gone down to levels that necessitate less staffing, or 2) The system lacks the revenue to sustain its staffing levels. Both of which are verifiable criteria. 

DROP

I just read an update on the DROP that said nothing will change. Everything remains as it was EXCEPT if you choose to stay on and continue to work after you have completed the DROP. If you do then it is possible that if you leave your money in their care you may not make the traditional 4% interest on it..., but it will depend on the economy. The same report said that it is unlikely that you won't get the 4% because historically you would have earned it in the past.
This information came from the RSA bulletin.