Three preschool teachers, four former educators, a school board member, two farmers, a lawyer and the county economic development director hashed over education matters to the benefit of our new state senator Daryl Beall Tuesday in Pocahontas. Funny that the only active teachers to appear were all preschool teachers, a program not mentioned at all in the Governor's reform plan.
Although Beall said he was glad to see school reform get so much attention, the audience was skeptical of many details: the do-or-die reading test at the end of third grade, the removal of the best teachers from the classroom to become master teachers, the ability of the state to pay up for new initiatives over the long run, etc.
The plan's pay scales for teachers seemed disconnected from the reality of this area, where the top pay reaches up to a level considered just average in the rest of the state. And why wasn't collective bargaining mentioned at all? Some former teachers said they remembered the days when women were paid less than men, elementary teachers less than high school teachers, and the way a firing could be appealed only to the same board that had made the original decision.
When it was over the Senator said it was the best of his forums so far. The Record-Democrat sent a reporter, so watch for more coverage in that paper next week.
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