Democrats Lead Fight to Keep Nurses in Schools

Georgia House Democratic Caucus Pledges fight to keep Nurses in Schools

Children can't learn when they are sick and teachers can't teach when they are running a health clinic

Atlanta -- According to the Governor's FY 2009 amended budget proposal school nurses will soon become a thing of the past. The recommendations submitted by the Governor last week cut $30 million in state funds which would eliminate the school nurse program. The Georgia House Democratic Caucus leaders oppose this cut and have pledged to work to restore the program.

Democrats believe in promoting preventive medicine and supporting nurses in schools so children can focus on learning and avoid complications that arise when health problems go untreated. They also believe every family should have access to a doctor and every school should have a nurse.

"We have a growing number of working families without health insurance and some of those parents rely on school nurses to keep their children safe and healthy while they are in school." said Pat Gardner (D-Atlanta), Chairperson for Health and Human Services Policy Committee for the Georgia House Democratic Caucus.

Georgia House Democratic Caucus Education Policy Chair, Rep. Kathy Ashe (D-Atlanta) said, "We must fight for our children and their right to receive appropriate health care while they are in school. If children don't receive the care they need their medical issues could escalate. It's a short sighted approach that will eventually cost our state additional funds and more importantly, diminish our children's ability to do the job they go to school to accomplish - learning. I am asking our parents and teachers to express your concern about these cuts to your state representative and state senators. Email gadhcissues@gmail.com if you need assistance finding your elected representatives."

Removing school nurses is extremely short-sighted. Georgia House Democratic Leader, Rep. DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) added real life examples. "In Dublin, we have one nurse for four elementary schools. Numerous daily school-age related illnesses aside, our nurse manages diabetic children who must undergo daily blood sugar testing; she takes care of a child on a feeding tube, and has a student going through stage 4 cancer. The management of these health issues takes a trained professional." said Porter. "In one of the four schools alone there are 38 students on asthma inhalers, students who at times have had to be rushed to the hospital with acute asthma attacks. We should not balance the state's budget by cutting health care to sick children or making our teachers become health care providers."

Georgia House Democratic Caucus Chairman Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus) agreed and pointed out legal questions that may arise, regardless of safeguards designed to protect the school. "The governor should be asking, who will administer this care... the teachers? The liability on untrained school employees administering health care could easily become an issue. Teachers in Georgia schools now are not allowed to administer medications. Nurses in our schools give out over 5 million doses per year. There are approximately fifteen million annual visits to the office or school health room for illness, medication and injury in Georgia," said Smyre. "Children can't learn when they are sick and teachers can't teach when they are running a health clinic."

In conclusion Porter noted, "We are willing to fight to stop this cut that will directly damage our schools and our children, but it will take a great effort to get the message to this Governor. Now is the time for Georgians to engage in the political process. Times are changing and Georgians can no longer assume basic services will continue. Georgians must become involved in the process."

The Georgia House Democratic Caucus has an Email to handle issues that relate to the Governor's proposed cuts. To voice your concern email gadhcissues@gmail.com Together we can continue to protect our children's future.

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Alternative (Reality) School

I am stunned that Bibb County Public Schools will bow to the complaints of a few parents and offer an "alternative educational activity" for children whose parents do not want them to watch Obama's historic swearing in and inaugural address on Tuesday. Apparently, these parents argue that this is not "an educational activity." Given the singularly historic nature of the occasion, that ridiculous assertion hardly deserves a response, especially given the history at one of the schools where the complaints emerged, Carter Elementary. Earlier, Carter had a "Polar Express Day" that involved children dressing in pj's and watching the film. That activity generated no newspaper articles or complaints from parents about misuse of "valuable educational time" and no demands for an "alternative educational activity."

There is something wrong with allowing a few parents to require that the school system facilitate children missing what arguably marks the greatest cultural shift of our lifetime. To those who would argue that this is a "political event," I would remind them that Obama is our President now- all of us.

I am left with two questions:

1) Were any of the parents who complained black?

2) If the answer to that question is "no", as I suspect it is, then, the reality of what will happen here on Tuesday is that a few white children, whose parents chose for them, will opt out of history by exiting classrooms before the swearing in is broadcast to the rest. Are we really fine with that?

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Sonny Needs a "Don't List"

Governor Perdue needs a "don't list" and this goes at the top:

"Don't go to China for the Olympics when your state is facing a 1-2 billion dollar shortfall and schools systems across the state are scrambling to raise property taxes-if they can-to make ends meet in light of your most recent cuts."

And, yet, off he goes. Nero's got nothing on Sonny Perdue.

When they meet tomorrow, expect the Bibb County Board of Education to vote to raise the millage rate. They have no choice. Sonny's most recent cuts to education will cost Bibb County over 2 million dollars. And, we're the lucky ones. Some school systems, like Richmond County, are maxed out and can't raise the millage rate. One source said that some systems have hired business people to look at their budgets and answer the question: "How can we do what the law requires with the money we have available to us?" The answer? Typically, "close schools." Parents, of course, love that idea. Not.

Let's be clear. This crisis did not happen overnight. It was entirely preventable. Sure, the recent economic downturn has exacerbated the problem, but it is the Republican mismanagement of the finances of this state over the last six years, and the consistent effort to starve public education out of existence, that is to blame for this mess. And, Gov. Perdue, who with his fish fries and all has a 60+% approval rating-for doing what I can't tell you, slinks off to China instead of having the political kahunas to stay here and deal with the problem. What a COWARD. The only thing worse would've been passage of Richardson's "GREAT" plan-then school boards would've had to call for a referendum to ask for sales taxes to be raised. In the meantime, I suppose they could've given teachers IOU's.

Note to Jim Galloway: Here's a prediction for you. With school systems scrambling, and parents screaming, Sonny's going to come back from China and miraculously save the state by dipping into the reserves. He will do this because the last thing he wants to do before the November election is to call a special session. He will then put on his white hat, grab a fishing pole and hold a prayer service, hoping, probably correctly, that no one notices that he's responsible for this mess in the first place. Graduation coaches my ass. I think we would've been better off to hire governance coaches.

And, note to Erick Erickson: I know you're going for ratings on the radio, but when you, an elected official, somehow become omniscient and decide to use your airtime to declare that the Bibb school board members have their heads in the sand, think all is wonderful with our schools and that all the parents who send their kids to private school are racists-you're recklessly stereotyping other community leaders and painting an inflammatory, inaccurate picture of their position on the many, many challenges of a school system where more than 70% of the children qualify for free or reduced price lunch. No one on that board thinks things are great, and I suspect that if you had attended a few school board meetings, you'd know that. I think it's wonderful that you plan to send your child to a public elementary school. Why don't you go ahead NOW and volunteer some of your time to help make OUR public schools a better place for OUR children? There's plenty to do. By the way, did you know that when it comes to allocation of state resources for schools, Bibb is considered a high wealth county, while Houston is considered low wealth? Yes, you read that right. That means that part of the money designated for "rich" counties like Bibb is re-routed to "poor" counties like Houston. Sound a little "fishy" to you? Me, too. Oh, and the formula is based on what the tax digest "should be"-not what it is in a place like Bibb where we've not been able to get the valuation it right for the last two years, but what the state thinks it should be. So, between 1.6 billion in cuts and the bad revaluation, Bibb schools are between a rock and a hard place. I challenge you to get out your crowbar.

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Sonny Fishes While Schools Struggle

If you're wondering why that fish's mouth is hanging open, it's because it can't believe the gall of our Governor. Today, Gov. Perdue, the same person who made sure "Go Fish Georgia" was funded while public education endured cuts of more than 1.6 billion dollars, sent me an invitation to his 5th annual Fish Fry. (That microtargeting the Republicans brag about isn't all it's cracked up to be, now is it?) How painfully ironic that the "Fish Fry" is taking place on the weekend before schools open in Middle Georgia-if we keep these folks in power, about the only job our children will be qualified for when they graduate will involve a fryer.

Forgive me if I decline your invitation, Governor. I don't see much to celebrate.

The truth is, while Sonny's been fishing, local school systems have been struggling to figure out how to make ends meet. In Bibb County alone, more than twenty teachers were let go in an effort to make the budget balance, and still, it didn't. Tonight, the Bibb County School Board adopted a 186.6 million dollar budget for the coming year, but they only expect revenues of 178.2 million. Taxes won't be raised, but the system will drain more than 8 million dollars from the reserve, just in an effort to get by. Thanks to Sonny, the republican-led gutting of public education, schools all across Georgia will open without enough teachers and with classrooms that are too crowded. According to the Telegraph, Superintendent Patterson said succinctly:"This is the most difficult financial condition the state and school system has been in."

No joke.

So, here's to Sonny Perdue, the man who literally fished while our schools crumbled, and to his handmaiden, Kathy Cox, who remains silent and loyal, to her Party and her ambition, but not to our children. This annual event speaks volumes about your misplaced priorities.

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"State-Directed" Schools

Kathy Cox is acting like Georgia just won a prize. We most assuredly did not. Georgia is one of six states selected by the U.S. Department of Education to pilot a program allowing "differentiated accountability" under the No Child Left Behind Act. Touted and "freedom" and "flexibility," the devil is, as always in the details.

1. Not one dime. Local school systems have been told that this grand prize comes with not one extra dollar. Never mind that most local boards just signed off on their budgets for next year, and that no one has yet determined whether this program will cost districts additional money-how can it not-and if so, how much.

2. Not on our time table. When Cox (who, as we know from the CRCT mess, just loves to spring surprises on local school districts) applied for this program in May of 2008, she told the U.S. DOE that the earliest Georgia could implement the program would be the 2009-2010 school year. Now, because a condition of being a pilot project was implementation this year (2008-2009), school districts across the state learned just today that they will be expected to make changes most do not yet understand. Never mind that most school districts have very few 12 month staff positions. When you're saddled with 1.6 billion in cuts, you can't afford many 12 month positions. Who, exactly, is going to stop putting out the daily fires to sort this out? Implementation is going to be chaotic, at best.

3. Just say "no" to local control. Talk about loss of local control, Cox's plan includes the creation of "State-Directed Schools." Here's the exact language from Cox's proposal as submitted to the DOE:

State-Directed Status (NI-5 or higher)
All schools in Needs Improvement year 5 or higher will receive a State-Directed status label which involves an immediate loss of local governance and other additional consequences as determined by the GaDOE in each school’s required state directed contract.

I don't know about you, but Cox seems to be having substantial trouble with the tasks currently on her plate. I'm not sure she needs to be taking over local schools and removing authority from locally elected boards of education and locally hired superintendents. I laughed when I read the AJC explanation that this was not really taking over local schools since local boards would still get to make all non-academic decisions. Read: Local boards will get to figure out how to pay for what the State requires them to do. And, that's change, how?

4. Delay, Delay. Because of Cox's rush to accept this "prize," Cox has made it nearly impossible for local schools systems to begin their school years as planned. Cox does not plan to inform local school systems which schools will be "State-Directed" until July 21-25, just a couple of weeks before most school systems are slated to start. Expect Cox to use this as an excuse to further her argument that schools should start later this year (to give her time to clean up her CRCT mess.)

5. The Holy Grail of Charter Schools. Read the report, or at least the comparison of how things are now, and how they will be under this plan. Cox has taken this opportunity to embed becoming a Charter School as one of a few limited options schools that need improvement are forced to choose between.

So, though I am no fan of NCLB, I am also no fan of trying to turn a battleship on a dime in rough waters. Cox was right in her first submission to the U.S. DOE-we needed a year to implement these changes successfully, not the mere weeks we now have. And, you can't fix broken schools by sending a monitor down from Atlanta or by having the state take over the school. Only leadership that is out of touch with the realities of local school districts could think such a plan is a good idea.

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