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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010
Named the best weekly editorial page in the nation for 2007, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher ~
Mike Buffington, editor • Email: Mike@mainstreetnews.com
our views
Slash pay
before paper
I N A recent letter to the Wall
Street Journal, a writer said
of the economic downturn:
“Strong leaders are refined, weak
leaders are exposed.”
And so it is in both the public
and private sectors that economic
hardships separate real leaders
from the pretenders. Nowhere is
such weakness more apparent in
Jackson County than in the cen
tral office of the Jackson County
School System.
The JCSS is the county’s largest
government, largest employer and
levies the highest tax rate on local
citizens. Its impact on the county
is far greater than any other single
institution.
Now, the JCSS is struggling with
some major financial problems
as the economic downturn has
exposed a serious lack of strong
leadership in the system.
Had the JCSS leadership recog
nized the seriousness of the eco
nomic decline two years ago, it
could have begun making cuts ear
lier. But leaders dithered, ignored
the problem and continued with a
status quo attitude and spending.
The result is that the system ended
last fiscal year $900,000 in the red.
Now the JCSS is scrambling to
make cuts to stave off more red ink,
both this year and into FY2011.
How? In part by cutting supplies
and other piddly expenses that will
do little to solve one of the system’s
real problems: Too many highly-
paid administrators.
The JCSS had 15 people making
over $100,000 per year at the end
of the last fiscal year; the superin
tendent made more than the gov
ernor. Another 36 people make
between $80,000 and $99,000 in
the system.
Something’s wrong with all this.
Too many overpaid chiefs, not
enough Indians. (And based on
their financial screw-ups, the chiefs
are making way too much to justify
their lackluster performance.)
That pay, along with generous
benefits, is at a time when the
private sector is hurting and unem
ployment is running over 10 per
cent locally. Do JCSS leaders think
the economic downturn doesn’t
affect them?
Before the JCSS cuts out copy
paper from classrooms and elimi
nate several popular programs, it
should first slash both the number
of administrators and the pay of
those who keep their jobs.
In addition, teacher training pro
grams should be cut in the system;
most teachers hate being pulled
out of the classroom for Mickey
Mouse meetings anyway. And the
school system should table all new
programs, such as the move to
Standard Based Report Cards, until
there is money in the budget to
support those moves.
A number of popular programs
will undoubtedly be affected by the
impending budget cuts in the JCSS.
The money simply doesn’t exist to
do everything.
But before those cuts happen,
system administrators should first
set an example by cutting admin
istrative pay and the number of
administrators and central office
staff.
If they’re not willing to do that
in more than just a token fashion,
then the Jackson County Board of
Education should do what any pri
vate business board would do: Get
new leadership to make it happen.
letters
Says to add $1 to car tax to offset deficit
Dear Editor:
Not a day goes by that we do not read of our
Governor and our Legislators trying to think of some
way to raise money to offset the deficit and they always
have no imagination - they always turn to the “ususal”
sources, i.e. property tax, sales tax, etc. “Beating a
dead horse” comes to mind.
WHAT IF: they propose a one dollar tax on auto
mobiles and a dollar and a half on “trucks” with half
the amount going to the county of registration? Such a
one-time or yearly tax would apply to everyone and is
little enough to be acceptable.
It could be in the form of a windshield sticker, sepa
rate from the usual forms.
Lord knows we have plenty of cars and trucks reg
istered in our State and this form of revenue would
benefit both the counties and the State to offset some
of the deficit.
Maybe each school should consider windshield
sticker revenue as a source of revenue to use in lieu of
furloughs for our over-worked teachers.
Most parents would not object to a one dollar cost
for an emblem displaying the school their child or chil
dren attend. In fact, most grandparents would gladly
support such a program promoting such a worthy
cause; merchants likewise.
CONSIDER THIS AS “THINKING OUTSIDE THE
BOX...”
Sincerely,
Frank S. Rosynek
Jefferson
(Editor’s Note: Taxes are already assessed on vehi
cles in the state, both for local and state use. Adding
SI to each vehicle would not come close to raising the
funds needed to make up a S1-S2 billion deficit the
state faces.)
Nicholson ‘Friends’ set
meeting with council
Dear Editor:
We of the Friends of the Harold S. Swindle Library
would like to correct your statement about the meeting
we held at the library inviting the council and mayor to
attend. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the
council to explore the library and better see first hand
what the needs of the library are.
The meeting was sponsored by us, the Friends of
the Library, and refreshments were provided, a tour
was given, and outdated materials were discussed and
growing sections were highlighted.
The mayor and all council members were invited,
and three members attended: Lamar Watkins, Ronnie
Maxwell, and Howard Wilbanks. Bobby Crawford was
invited and never responded, and Chuck Wheeler
visited the library before it was open that morning,
February 4, and received the same tour and explana
tion of needs that everyone else did.
Also present were Kelli O’Clare, library manager,
and Mary Jane Hilley, treasurer of the Friends of the
Library.
No meeting was ever called to order, there was no
official vote or official business conducted, and every
one gathered right in the middle of the library in full
view of the public.
Sincerely,
Jack Rice, President of the Friends of the Harold S.
Swindle Public Library
Mike Stowers, Vice President; Trudy McEver,
Secretary; Mary Jane Hilley, Treasurer
(Editor’s Note: It doesn’t matter who called the
meeting or whether or not it was called to order.
Anytime a quorum of government officials meet to
discuss public business, it is a meeting under Georgia
Law and has to be announced in advance.)
Everybody working for the state needs to sacrifice
WHEN Chancellor Erroll Davis was told by legislators
to make further budget cuts at the University System, he
put up several ideas for consideration.
You could raise tuition 35 percent or so, Davis said,
as well as charge students an “emergency fee,” shorten
semesters, lay off some employees, or discontinue
popular programs such as 4-H
and county extension offices.
Interestingly, the one thing
Davis indicated he will not
do is trim the salaries of the
University System’s highest-
paid employees.
“That’s certainly something
we’re not going to recommend
or even contemplate,” he told
lawmakers.
A lot of lawmakers are ask
ing, why not? That’s a question
taxpaying Georgians should be
asking as well.
Gov. Sonny Perdue was paid
$139,339 during the last fiscal year. I sometimes dis
agree with Perdue about the decisions he makes or the
actions he takes, but you can’t deny that the governor
holds the most important job in state government. If
Perdue said tomorrow the governor’s salary should be
doubled, I would not argue with him.
Now look at the salaries paid to college presidents
and administrators.
University of Georgia President Michael Adams’s
salary was $607,417 in the last fiscal year. Arnett Mace,
the former provost who is now a “special assistant” to
Adams, was paid $338,100. Jere Morehead, the current
provost, was paid $219,364 while student affairs head
Rodney Bennett was paid $223,694.
Adams’s chief of staff, Meg Amstutz, was paid
$137,000 - which means she made almost as much as
the governor of the state.
Daniel Papp, the president of Kennesaw State
University, was paid $266,956 last year. One of his staff
ers was paid $152,534 - in other words, an assistant to
a college president made more than the governor of
Georgia.
Patrick Schloss, the president of Valdosta State
University, had a salary of $267,256 while David Potter,
the president of North Georgia College, was paid
$220,991. Gainesville State College President Martha
Nesbitt made $181,119.
Daniel Kaufman, the president of newly established
Georgia Gwinnett College, was paid $216,566. One of
Kaufman’s staffers makes $153,350 a year. Again: an
assistant to a college president is being paid a higher
salary than the governor of Georgia.
These people have impressive credentials and impor
tant responsibilities. I don’t doubt that they work hard
for their salaries and do their jobs well.
On the other hand, I doubt any of them work harder
than a teacher struggling to educate middle school
students in a cash-poor school system. I doubt that
they have to cope with the physical dangers faced by
state troopers who patrol our highways. I doubt that
their jobs are as stressful as the corrections officer
who makes sure convicted killers don’t escape from
prison.
Teachers, state troopers and prison guards have all
had to take furloughs and salary cuts this year. Why
should college presidents and administrators be any
different?
Davis contends that if highly paid University System
officials actually had to cut their salaries, the state
would see its “best and brightest leave us” as other
states raid Georgia for its academic talent.
Chancellor, let me put your mind at ease. Every state
government and university system is facing a deep
budget crisis right now because of the recession. Other
states, like Georgia, are struggling to provide even
basic services like K-12 education, public safety, and
healthcare.
You are not going to see other states raid the
University System’s talent. Just like Georgia, they don’t
have the money. If the University System required its
most highly paid people to take the same salary cuts
required of other state employees, the great majority of
them would stay on the job.
“We cannot allow our students and programs to bear
the brunt of these impending cuts,” said Sen. Seth
Harp (R-Midland). “True leaders are the first to make
sacrifices for the betterment of others. I am calling on
the leaders of our state’s greatest universities to share
in the sacrifice.”
Cutting the salaries of college administrators will not
solve all of the state’s budget problems, but it’s a start,
and it would show that everyone is sharing the burden
as we struggle to get through these hard times. It is time
for the employees of the University System to assume
their share of the burden.
Tom Crawford is the editor of The Georgia Report.
He can be reached at tcrawford@capitolimpact.net
Which have the
most impact:
Home or teachers?
T HERE’S an on-going debate
in education over what truly
affects student learning. Is it
the family demographics and stabil
ity of home life; or is it the quality of
teachers and instmction that most
affects per
formance?
This
debate
has got
ten new
life in the
last year
as finan
cial cuts
have put
increas
ing stress
on public
schools
and teach
ers.
Certainly, there is a strong statistical
link between a student’s family back
ground and educational achievement.
Typically, the more education parents
have, the more successful a student
will be.
A lot of theories surround those
numbers. Some believe that more
educated, wealthier families have
more resources to expose children
to learning at an earlier age and to
sustain that learning with enrichment
opportunities outside of school. In
addition, some argue that this demo
graphic sets higher expectations for
children than families that are in pov
erty, or that are unstable.
School officials complain that the
parents of struggling children from
poor backgrounds are often the least
responsive to meeting with teachers
to discuss problems. Many people
would be surprised at just how many
kids today come from difficult homes
where drug abuse, physical abuse and
instability are the norm.
Still, there’s a growing body of
research that suggests despite the fam
ily problems faced by some students,
a bigger difference in school success
is with the quality of classroom teach
ers. Studies in some inner city schools
where virtually all children come from
disadvantaged homes show that the
quality of a teacher can make a huge
difference in academic achievement.
Many education lobbying groups
and unions would probably deny that.
Those defenders of the status quo like
to pretend that all teachers are identi
cal in ability. That’s why they decry
merit pay ideas and helped create the
system where teachers are rewarded
not on performance, but rather on
tenure and degrees.
But it’s clear that teacher quality
varies, just like any job. Some are
simply better than others. Some have
a good work ethic and some are lazy,
the same thing you’ll find in any office
building in America (or any other
country for that matter.)
Unlike the private sector, however,
getting rid of bad teachers is almost
impossible. Fearing litigation, school
leaders often prefer to put up with
lousy teachers than deal with the legal
fallout of firing them.
The interesting thing about this
debate is the politics that surrounds
it. On the one hand, many education
leaders blame a school’s low perfor
mance on demographics and lack of
parental support. On the other hand,
they decry budget cuts saying cut
backs will harm “the children.”
Well, which is it? If parents are the
main determining factor in education
success, then budget cuts shouldn’t
affect education quality.
Maybe it’s both. Perhaps the expec
tations of a community affect the
quality of teachers a school system
employs; low expectations would
yield lower quality teachers and the
combination of the two would pro
duce less successful students. But
communities that have high expecta
tions would get better teachers and
consequently, have more successful
students.
Mike Buffington is editor of The
Jackson Herald. He can be reached
at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
mike
buffington