GAINESVILLE - Gainesville City Schools Superintendent Steven Ballowe did not hold back when it came to assessing the state of public education in today's society.
"In the private world, you don't get paid if your product is not one of quality. Well, in public education you've always gotten (paid) whether the kids can read and write or not," Ballowe said. "Too many kids have been pushed through based on numbers without being educated. I just think we've got to change that concept."
Ballowe made his comments Sunday morning following the city Board of Education's Saturday night decision to consider implementing incentive pay for the system's top administrators.
It was a program that he implemented in the school system he ran in South Carolina and he is hoping to get it going here.
"Things were a little more relaxed in South Carolina. Georgia has a lot more restrictions so it's a little tougher to get it going. But I think it's the way to get better ideas, and results," Ballowe said.
The focus, he said, is to hold those at the top accountable first.
"You cannot have an effective school if you don't have effective leadership. The incentive program is a way for our administrators to become a little more result-oriented," Ballowe said.
The topic of individual teacher incentives came up but Ballowe said he would like to see a teacher incentive based more on school-wide performance.
"In most cases (of teacher incentives) the teachers feel threatened by the competition instead of working as a team," Ballowe said. "We don't want to create an unnecessary air of competition. What I would like to eventually see is a school-wide incentive based on total performance of the school."
Despite harsh criticism of public education, Ballowe said it is still the way to go.
"It offers more diversity and greater freedom to explore interests. I just think we need to always be looking to improve. That's what this is all about - improving."
Thursday
January 23rd, 2025
12:33AM
