Help save professional development funding
House Bill 2 – the K-12 Public Education Funding Bill
– as presented by the House Budget Committee would completely
eliminate the state’s professional development fund.
HB 2 will be voted on by the Missouri House the week of March
9 – 13. You must call or e-mail your legislator now
at http://capwiz.com/nea/mo/issues/alert/?alertid=12875006&type=ST
. Ask your state representative to restore the PD Funding
in HB 2 to the 2007-08 level of $20 million. Eliminating funding
for professional development is unacceptable if they want
instruction to meet rising expectations for student achievement.
It is time to invest in education, rather than eliminating
the support teachers need to succeed. To hear a podcast explaining
the budget process and discussing the need to take action,
go to http://missourinea.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=440279.
More details…
The timing couldn’t
be worse…
The House Budget Committee seems poised
to make a deadly cut to the successful Professional Development
System Missouri educators have created over the past 15 years
to help teachers and administrators keep up with increasingly
complex student needs. The proposed budget cut comes at a
time when schools are being judged on their ability to increase
student achievement.
The State PD funding provides
equal access to high quality PD statewide….
The money in question supports the statewide
system that gives every teacher in every corner of the state
access to high quality PD. This money funds the Regional Professional
Development Centers, STARR Teachers, Professional Development
Committee Training, the Leadership Academy, the Teachers Academy,
Project Success for low performing schools, National Board
Teacher Candidate support and other important programs. A
St. Louis University study cites the link between improved
student achievement and the professional development programs
that are being eliminated.
How much PD money should
I ask my state representative to advocate for in HB 2?
PD funding was cut from $20 million down
to $15 million for the current budget year and the governor
had proposed another cut down to $10 million, but now the
budget committee appears intent on eliminating the funding
altogether. PD funding needs to be restored to the 07-08 level
of $20 million to meet increasing demands for higher student
achievement.
Why would anyone want to
cut this funding?
We are not sure, but we think they don’t
know how important PD is to student achievement. Many legislators
do not know how the money has been used. Some educators have
equated this cut with the anti-public education tactics embedded
in No Child Left Behind. This cut will make it difficult for
public schools to succeed. Regardless of the reasons, eliminating
the state PD money is a huge step backward and will leave
some educators with little or no access to new ideas and strategies
for their classroom.
Missouri NEA strongly opposes cuts to professional development.
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