GA Association of Educators Responds to Governor’s Call for Furloughs

Members of the Georgia Association of Educators are speaking out against the furlough days that Governor Sonny Perdue is calling for between now and the end of 2009.

“They are concerned that the loss of those planning days, or any days, will negatively impact their ability to provide quality instruction to their students, which is their priority.  This amounts to less time to prepare for their students, which impacts their ability to get the school year off to a great start.  One question we are looking into is whether our state statutes allow the governor to implement furloughs for contractual employees, which are the majority of our state teachers. He has handed off the responsibility for making these hard decisions to the superintendents and school boards.  He does not have the authority to mandate furloughs for school employees because they are essentially employed by the local school systems,” says Jeff Hubbard, GAE President.

Hubbard says the planning days are crucial because the teachers need to prepare for the increasingly challenging standards set forth by the state Department of Education.

“Educators are not blind to the effects of the recession and the need to trim budgets,” said Hubbard, “but we would ask lawmakers to fully explore all other possibilities before resorting to negatively impacting student instruction, especially on the heels of the recent gains made in attaining AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress).“

Organization members say the Governor should reexamine the state’s tax incentives and tax-free programs.

“At a critical time when our state’s coffers are not where we need them to be, it would be negligent to not look at methods to bring in much needed tax monies such as temporarily suspending the upcoming sales tax holiday, examining our corporate tax structure to see if they are paying their fair share, and looking at the feasibility of tax incentive giveaways such as those provided to motion-picture companies.  Georgia desperately needs a fair and equitable taxation system. The recession has only served to highlight this need.” 

With the cuts, the Governor is taking the state’s education budget back to 2005 levels.  Hubbard wonders if that violates requirements for federal stimulus monies from the American Relief and Reinvestment Act by taking the budget back below 2006 levels.

“Some complain about our state’s ability to educate our children, but I know educators do an excellent job with ever dwindling resources,” said Hubbard.  “And as is their nature, educators will continue to come out of their pockets an average of $550-$600 a year to provide for their classrooms and students.  Name one other profession where the professionals willingly take out of their own pockets, and subsequently, from their own families, to provide for their jobs. Under Gov. Perdue’s tenure to this point, austerity cuts have bled Georgia’s schools to the tune of $1.6 billion. And ironically, more and more is taken from them while more and more is asked of them. Educators are a special breed, which is why GAE is proud to represent them.”