The
KCEA Officers President Sherry Morgan Secretary Jennifer Owen Treasurer Tanya T. Coats Past President Jessica Holman _____
Executive Board Representatives Support Personnel Peggy Thomas High Schools Jason Gulledge Charles Negendank Middle Schools Karen Peterman Kim Waller Elementary Schools Judy Barnes Tiffany Watkins Heather Wallace Joan Washington Alternative Schools Amy Arnold Administration Brad Corrum Minority at Large Sherry Hensley Parliamentarian Paula Brown _____
TEA / NEA East TN Minority Paula Hancock TEA-FCPE, Dist. 4 Bill Bell NEA Resolutions Anthony Hancock _____
KCEA Office TEA UniServ Jon White Admin. Assistant Abbie Hoover
Advocate
Jobs and the Economy Summit: Exploring a Balanced Approach to Taxes, Economic Development, & Funding Policies to Create Strong Schools, Strong Communities and a Strong Economy Scott Rhea, Legislative Contact Team I had the pleasure of attending the Jobs and the Economy Summit in Nashville this past November. The Summit focused on TEF (Taxes, Equity, and Funding) and the interdependence of each. You cannot affect change in one without including the other two. NEA economist, Michael Kahn, stressed the importance of all three elements existing in balance. Simply stated, the TEF balance in Tennessee could not walk a straight line. Our regressive tax structure does not support basic services – such as education. At least we are consistent: TN ranks in the bottom 10 states in per-capita taxes, school funding, and teachers’ salary. However, we are in the top five when it comes to having one of the most regressive tax structures in the country (the lowest income group pays proportionally more tax than the highest income group) and the largest gap between the richest and poorest families. Regardless of the current state of the economy, the bigger issue is that schools are being required to do more and being held accountable without the capacity to do the job. (Are you thinking about the new evaluation system?) Tennessee citizens have to demand investment in education. Most do want to invest in education, but do not trust that tax dollars will find their way to the classroom. Senator Andy Berke summarized an informal survey for us: citizens trust teachers, principals, and even local councils, but do not trust the school board! Citizens are willing to pay for education if they know the money will go to a classroom. A balanced tax structure is suggested - a balance of property, income, and sales taxes. This method is elastic (keeps up with changes proportionally and equitably). We can begin by closing loop holes and reducing, eliminating, or restructuring TIFs (Tax Increment Finance). TIFs are what local governments give a business as an incentive to come to their area: tax breaks, bonds, low rate loans, etc. Mr. Kahn, the NEA economist, cited data that indicated TIFs do not work as intended- to stimulate the economy, create jobs, and increase the tax base. Dr. Matthew Murray, Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, indicated that TIF’s do work as intended, most of the time, and presented data that indicated such. However, when I asked Dr. Murray if the performance requirements for a business could be strengthened, he indicated this theory in politics and most business: “everyone else is doing it, so we have to do it to try and be competitive.” Sounds like an argument a drug pusher would make: “everyone else is doing it.” Let’s encourage our government to do the right thing…even if it’s not popular in the short-term. Dr. Robert Kuttner, American Prospect and Demos, suggested the only way to “fix” the deficit and the recession is to increase government spending and government investment in education. Historically, that has worked for this country; however, due to global changes and global influence domestically, this government spending has to be proAmerican. When Roosevelt spent government money on building roads, the jobs were in the United States and the profit stayed in the US - growing domestic business. Currently, if the government paid to build a road in Tennessee, jobs would be created. However, the profits and ancillary benefits would be spread throughout the world. Thus, economic growth would be short lived. One thing all the economists and politicians agreed on: We need to invest in education because it is the greatest driver of an economy. We have to insure that public funds are being used wisely for a return on our investment.
As teachers, we have to speak up! Let it be known that a 130 question survey about parental involvement (I had to deliver this to my students last week.) is a waste of limited resources - time and money. I have a problem with loosing instructional days to give an assessment that lacks reliability and validity, as well as violates the common sense approach to assessment: 130 questions! When this occurs, we have to be vocal about the use of our educational tax dollars. We have to give citizens a reason to know we will use their money wisely.