The Georgia Association of Educators has questioned aspects of the state's bid for part of the $4.35 billion federal grant competition. But now the association, which represents more than 40,000 teachers in the state, is formally opposing the application because the group along with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators was not allowed to give input on the proposal.
``GAE offered our desire to participate in the process, and we were flat-out ignored,'' said association President Jeff Hubbard. ``We want to be a part of fixing education, but there are too many weaknesses in Georgia's application.''
The association plans to send a letter outlining its opposition to the U.S. Department of Education, Hubbard said.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has called the associations obstructionists and said he doesn't believe the associations truly represent the views of Georgia's teachers any longer.
Though the teachers' groups were not included, there were educators on the committee that crafted the state's application, said Perdue's spokesman, Bert Brantley. And the state used a survey of 20,000 educators across the state to help write the proposal for $400 million, he said.
``They're opposing more money for schools, which seems hardly appropriate for a group that bills themselves as a teachers' group to do,'' Brantley said. ``We think we're going to win even without their support.''
Georgia came in third during the first round of ``Race to the Top,'' losing out to winners Tennessee and Delaware. The program is designed to encourage states to adopt innovative reforms that raise student achievement and turnaround failing schools.
The U.S. Department of Education is set to hand out another round of grants in the fall.
Teacher buy-in is a key factor in the scoring of ``Race to the Top'' applications, but U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has warned states against diluting their reform efforts just to get the support of unions and other associations. At the same time, he has praised Tennessee and Delaware for garnering the full approval of their teachers' groups.
Hubbard said GAE is concerned that Georgia's application only applies to 23 school districts in the state out of 180 even though those schools represent nearly half of the students in the state. The association also worries that the state is rushing into creating a teacher evaluation system without making sure it's a fair and effective way to measure educators, he said.
``This should have been about empowerment, engagement and collaboration, but instead it's been about Hail Mary's and intimidation,'' Hubbard said. ``And is that the way you want to transform education? We should all be at the table together.''
Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, which represents about 80,000 educators in the state, said the group also doesn't support the state's application, for many of the same reasons that Hubbard's association outlined. Still, he said it's ``a little late in the game'' to write a letter opposing the bid.
``We aren't going to have a protest and press conference,'' Callahan said. ``But we really have some serious problems with the application.''
On the Net:
Georgia Association of Educators: http://www.gae.org
GAE President Jeff Hubbard says teacher associations should have been part of the committee that wrote the state's application.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/5/229168