I'm starting out this post with this sobering news for teachers that was released recently:
...And just this week, Education Week released the Quality Counts report that provides snapshots of nationwide school finance data. Again reported in Great Education Colorado, the news is bad for our state:
We're continuing "the Colorado trajectory" -- falling farther behind the nation and other states that are competing with us for jobs, economic development opportunities and educators.
Here's a comparison of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 Quality Counts data (note that because of the lag in available data, the new statistics are based on 2007 expenditures -- that is, before the current recession):
Per pupil funding, adjusted for regional cost differences:
2008: 38th nationally
2009: 40th
2010: 42nd
Per pupil spending (adjusted for regional cost differences) compared to U.S. Average:
2008: $1,034 below the national average
2009: $1,449 below the national average
2010: $1,919 below the national average
Rank in teacher pay parity (i.e., how teacher salaries compare to salaries in comparable professions):
2008: 43rd
2010: 50th
That's the context for the current legislative session -- where cuts of at least an average $440 per pupil are virtually certain for the coming school year.
~ Great Education Colorado, January 26
So...pretty depressing news for those of us who have dedicated our professional lives to trying to improve public education in a way that we believe would best serve our kiddos. Colorado is projected to be 50th in the nation in terms of paying teachers a comparable salary to other people with the same amount of education. That is just awesome.
It's always interesting to me when schools try to get taxpayers to give them more money by putting a two or three cent tax increase on every $10 spent. These tax increases usually fail and a lot of the reasons that are cited for this is; "Schools suck anyway...more money isn't going to help" or "I don't have kids so I don't need to help pay for my neighborhood schools" or my favorite, "Schools have all the money they need...they're just mismanaged."
I'll tell you something about my school. We had to cut two full-time teachers this year making our 5th grade class sizes insane. There are about 35 kids in each of the 5th grade classes making for a classroom management nightmare. I have 28 kids in my 2nd grade class right now and I'd like you to imagine the amount of individual attention each one of them gets. It's not a whole lot. We've cut technology services so it takes about 2 months for any computer issue to be resolved. Imagine how often the kids get computer time with that issue. There are no after-school programs anymore, no new equipment, no field trips this year due to budget cuts. The high school alone has lost 15 professional teachers (that means teachers who have been teaching for 5 years or more) to other professions due to being overworked and underpaid. The high school had to scramble to fill those positions and they are staffed with whoever they could get. There are many other examples, but this post would be way too long.
So for those of you here in Colorado that constantly are complaining about the quality of public education, who talk about how you're going to send your kids to private schools or charters, who make jokes about how teachers just hang out in schools and don't do anything due to tenure...
I have a phrase for you: "You get what you pay for."
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3 comments:
Well written blog, my friend. What sobering facts, it's really depressing. Thanks for sharing, I hadn't heard those numbers yet.
I think teachers should be paid more. Much more. But, there also has to be a standard to hold good teacher and underperforming teachers accountable to.
I still feel until the union allows underperforming teachers to be dismissed, so more qualified or performing teachers can take their place, (based on performance) no real changes will be made, despite how much funding a district gets.
Look at how the unions basically destroyed the car industries. It forced the auto industry to pay wages way beyond the skill levels. When the auto sales weren't there, the unions still demanded this same pay. When certain teachers aren't performing, their jobs are still protected.
While this doesn't solve every funding issue, I think tax payers in general would be more opt to vote for increasing taxes every year to fund schools, if there were a way to hold teachers accountable.
Look at your school- were the two teachers who were let go, the underperforming teachers, or simply the ones who didn't have tenure or hadn't been in the district long enough to be "safe?"
Most other professional industries-doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. if they don't perform, or get a certain number of billing hours in each month, they get replaced by someone who can. They don’t usually get to keep their jobs, if they aren’t performing to their industry standards.
I am not slamming teachers who work so hard, like so many do, but I think the union protects the ones who do not, to the determent of all- teachers and tax payers. Even if a school got all the funding it would ever need, the underperforming teachers would still be there.
I think so many people point to charter schools because there are no unions, and they can get rid of the underperforming teachers, or simply not accept them in the first place. Interesting how some charter schools have even less funding than the regular schools, but they perform better. At least I have seen that in a few charter schools in my school district. It gives me food for thought on really what makes a school or a district a “high performing” one- money , or the quality of the professionals they have.
It is sad to see CO. so low on the list. I hope some changes come soon.
Interesting points Heather.
I'll be very honest with you though: my building has 615 kids and 39 teachers. Of those teachers, there is ONE that is hanging out due to the union and tenure. Everyone else is working their butts off. I would say that in my district at least, the majority of teachers (over 90%) really do a great job and are held accountable for their student's learning.
You can't take a umbrella clause like that (oh, it's the union's fault...)on education when CO is 50th in the nation in funding. That is just unacceptable and it points to people just being unwilling to pay for it.
Facts are facts.
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