State Senator, Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga), published an Op Ed in Sunday’s Tennessean. In it he calls for “genuine investment” in education, one that focuses on the classroom:
In 2006, Tennessee ranked 47th in per pupil spending and, on a per pupil basis, the state was actually spending just over half of what Arkansas was spending per pupil. Even when adjusting for our lower cost of living, we still ranked just 38th.
He explains that while Governor Bredesen and the Democratic-led General Assembly’s initiatives to bolster preschool programs and change the BEP funding formula have increased state per pupil funding more than 25 percent in 5 years, these legislative actions will take time before yielding results.
More dollars, however, is not the only answer. We need to make sure state funds are invested in programs that produce real change. That's why I have introduced legislation to ensure that 90 percent of all education dollars are spent in the classroom.
The senator's bill "requires classroom expenditures to be at least 70 percent of the total operating expenditures both district-wide and by school by fiscal year 2013-2014 and to reach at least 90 percent by fiscal year 2017-2018." Question is, how will Senator Berke’s legislative proposal affect Hamilton County Department of Education?
Aaron Collier
freweds on March 11, 2009
I thought he got elected by promising to raise the state minimum wage?
Stephen42 on March 11, 2009
What exactly falls under the 'classroom expenditures' & would that include teachers' salaries?
What's the chances of HCDE making cuts to their administrative budgets and directing those funds to the classrooms before they start closing and consolidating area schools?