At its work session Thursday, the state Board of Education discussed a proposed budget and priorities for the next fiscal year. State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice reported that roughly $336 million more could be available due to growth and a change in the formula for the Rolling Reserve fund budgeting process. 

Bice’s proposal gives first priority to the foundational/operational needs of local school boards. State board member Jeff Newman emphasized that the Foundation program’s premise is to provide a stable funding base for all school systems which is particularly important to those with weak tax bases. By underfunding key foundation components such as transportation and other current expenses, school systems must spend every available local dollar simply to  provide transportation and pay for critical non-certified staff to keep schools running. For many school systems, there is virtually no local funding to prioritize critical local needs.

Bice believes a three-year funding goal is very “doable” and has confidence that legislative leaders are open to the approach. The requested increases for the upcoming year include:

·Transportation: + $26.5 million

· Teacher Units/Class Size Reduction (reframed from “divisors”):  + $23.5 million

· Other Current Expense (OCE): + $23 million

· Classroom Instructional Support: + $18.6 million

· ACCESS the state’s distance learning program, (anticipating increase to implement Act 2015-89): + $5.6 million

Bice walked through additional priorities, recommended incentives to recruit teachers and proposed additional career pathways for teachers. He emphasized professional development with induction and mentoring programs for new teachers and funding to support National Board Certification. Finally, Bice spoke in favor of a cost of living adjustment for education employees. While not endorsing a specific pay raise, he said a raise would cost $35 million for each 1 percent increase. In fact, Bice notes several states have an automatic COLA included in the budget process to prevent it from being a political issue. 

The budget proposal included a “Alabama STEM and Literacy Collaborative” to house ARI, AMSTI, STEM and the Alabama Science in Motion programs in one place. Bice believes that grouping the programs would enable differentiation and specialization to address regional and local needs.

Board members appeared receptive to many of the recommendations and emphasized the need to begin rebuilding the education budget to 2008 levels. Board member Matthew Brown asked if it would be possible to direct as much funding as possible to local school systems while giving them the flexibility needed to use these funds to address local priorities. 

The board deferred discussion of a state commissioned report by Augenblick consultants regarding Equity and Adequacy in School Funding to a later meeting. Instead, the board began its consideration of changes in the Alabama Administrative Code pertaining to teacher certification. That discussion moved slowly as board members delved into the complicated topic and asked tough questions about the purpose of proposed changes. Brown and McCarty asked what problems were being fixed by the recommendations. Fellow board member Mary Scott Hunter voiced frustration about potential obstacles the proposed changes might create for those who want to enter the teaching profession. State board members said their goal is to balance setting standards for quality professionals and enabling systems to recruit professionals for hard to fill positions in math, science and technology. Bice said the discussion will continue after the board receives additional information.

Earlier that morning, the state board adopted regulations regarding dyslexia. Bice commended the negotiation process that resulted in classifying dyslexia as a learning disability in the Administrative Code.  Such classification will better enable identifying and serving students with dyslexia.

In other business the state board also approved the following resolutions :

· Designating October as Dyslexia Awareness Month;

· Proclaiming October 2015 as Principals Month;

· Proclaiming October as Statewide Parent Visitation Month in Alabama;

· Proclaiming November 2-6, 2015, as Alabama College Application Week; and

· Endorsing Alabama School Bus Safety Week on October 19-23, 2015.

The next state board meeting will be in Montgomery Nov. 12 at 10:30 a.m., and a 1 p.m. work session will follow.

 

Early registration saves you money & a seat at the AASB Convention, deadline Nov. 20

More than 500 education leaders are expected to attend the Alabama Association of School Boards’ Annual Convention, Orientation and Delegate Assembly at The Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. Plan to join us on Dec. 2 and 3 for Roles & Responsibility Orientation and Effective Boards & Relationships Orientation . Stay afterward for the Dec. 3-5 AASB Annual Convention and the association's annual business meeting. This year's convention theme is Kids Count on Us. Keynote speeches will be delivered by retired Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver on Leadership Lessons from the Field, Dr. Ronald Ferguson on Toward Excellence & Equity and Jack Gallagher on A Different Kind of Cool.

The Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel, convention headquarters, has no vacancies. However there are discount rooms available less than two miles from the host hotel. The Hyatt Place Birmingham/Hoover is at 2980 John Hawkins Parkway, 205/988-8444.

 

Athletes to be the focus of Nov. 5 webinar

Registration is now open for AASB's Nov. 5 webinar on  What School Boards Need to Know About High School Athletics . The webinar presenter will be Steve Savarese, executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association, which regulates, coordinates and promotes the interscholastic athletic programs among its member schools. The webinar is 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. central time, and only costs $50 per individual caller or $200 per group call. School board members will earn 1.5 training hours for participating. Superintendents as well as public school athletic directors, coaches, personnel and any other AASB member with an interest are welcome to participate.

 

Deadline to enter Alabama’s Best K-12 Practices Contest extended to Oct. 30

LEAN Frog, in association with AASB, invites you to enter your schools’ K-12 best practices for consideration in the 2015 Alabama's Best K-12 Practices Contest. The contest is open to Alabama public schools and recognizes best practices and innovations in instructional and non-instructional departments that impact student achievement and promote effective and efficient use of public resources. The deadline has been extended to Oct. 30. The winning entry will receive $3,000. Two second place entries will receive $1,000 each. Awards will be presented Dec. 5 at the awards ceremony during the AASB Annual Convention in Birmingham. Enter now .

 

American Education Week Nov. 16-20

American Education Week presents all Americans with an opportunity to celebrate public education and honor those who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education. The National Education Association has developed an online toolkit with templates, information, activity ideas and tips for working with the media. AASB will celebrate Nov. 17 at a ground-breaking ceremony in downtown Montgomery, where it will relocate its headquarters. Additional details on that event are coming soon.

 

Nominate your board for the Magna Award

Alabama boards of education are doing excellent work and deserve national attention for their accomplishments. AASB encourages you to apply for the 2016 Magna Award . The American School Board Journal's annual awards program, cosponsored by the National School Boards Association and Sodexo School Services, honors best practices in school systems that were developed or actively supported by the school board. Each grand prize winner will receive $4,000. Oct. 31 is the deadline to enter. Call 703/838-6739 or email kvail@nsba.org .

 

Download the Alabama Association of School Boards mobile app

Join Alabama’s army of public education advocates. Get the quality training, tools and resources you need to excel as a leader in education governance. Register for school board training. Get the latest advocacy alerts. Read news and information. Download the free Alabama Association of School Boards mobile app in the AppStore or Android Market.  

 

Chosen your delegates yet? Submit names by Nov. 3

On Dec. 3 at The Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel, representatives of the state's local boards of education will gather for AASB’s annual business meeting at 6 p.m. and an orientation for new delegates at 5:30 p.m. Delegate Assembly occurs just prior to the annual convention. School boards are asked to elect their delegates and alternates by Nov. 3 and email their names to Cassandra White.

 

It’s a date!

 

Nov. 5 (1.5 hours)

What School Boards Should Know About High School Athletics

Webinar

 
Dec. 2 (8 hours )

Roles & Resp. Orientation

Hyatt Regency Birmingham, The Wynfrey Hotel

Dec. 3 (6 hours )

Effective Boards & Relationships

Hyatt Regency Birmingham, The Wynfrey Hotel

Dec. 3-5 (7 hours )

AASB Annual Convention

Hyatt Regency Birmingham, The Wynfrey Hotel

 

 

-Lissa Tucker and Emily Maxwell

contributed to this report.

 

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