Dive Summary:
- Judy Hale, president of The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia and a critic of Gov. Early Ray Tomblin's education proposal, urged state lawmakers Wednesday to look closer at the last decade's numbers.
- Along with Jackee Long of the School Service Personnel Association, Hale presented state figures that included a loss of 700 classroom teachers, an increase of over 1,000 administrators and non-teaching personnel and widening salary gaps between teachers and administrators over the last decade.
- Tomblin's education reform bill includes changes to teacher hiring and transfers, and is backed by a coalition of business groups.
From the article:
Saying it’s all about student achievement, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is trying to push his education reform bill through the Legislature. "We're putting a lot of money into our education system but our test scores continue to slide downwards and we've got to reverse that trend and make sure that our students have the skills for the jobs that are needed in West Virginia," Tomblin said. But some educators say the bill contradicts itself, claiming it will taint the hiring process and bring in ill-qualified teachers. ...
