ATLANTA (AP) Gov. Nathan Deal urged state lawmakers to spend the 2016 legislative session studying sweeping changes to Georgia's education system, including the state's method for doling out funds to schools and tying teacher pay to student performance.
He's willing to give them a full year to consider those changes, delaying legislation until the 2017 session and implementation until July 2018, when the fiscal year budget takes effect.
``To those who are either inflexible or cynical, I would ask them to consider the words of former Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair, who made the following observation, and I quote: `The scope, speed and scale of change demands that we educate students for a future vastly different from our past,''' Deal said in his State of the State address on Wednesday.
Deal, a Republican in the second year of his final four-year term, appointed a commission last year to study all aspects of Georgia's education system.
The panel's recommendations would allocate money per student, factoring in poverty, enrollment in gifted or special education classes and grade level. The group also advocated for more flexibility on testing, more support to charter schools and letting students advance grade levels when ready.
But a recommendation that districts set their own pay scale for teachers, rather than using a statewide system based on experience and training, struck a nerve with educator groups. They argue that linking pay to student performance on standardized tests and other measures is unfair and won't be an incentive to teachers.
Deal told teachers that the change ``does not mean that you are not appreciated.''
``Just as a sailor should not be insulted when someone repairs a leak in his boat and replaces his oars with a motor, neither should our teachers take offense when we try to do the metaphorical equivalent for them,'' Deal said.
Deal promised his budget would increase education spending by $300,000, money he wants school districts to use for a 3 percent teacher pay raise. He urged parents to become allies to teachers, making sure kids attend school every day, do homework and not be disruptive at school.
``I know you love your children and want them to succeed in life, so please do those things and you and your family will be richly rewarded,'' Deal said.
The teacher pay issue has already prompted questions.
Speaker David Ralston, the top Republican in the Georgia House, has said he's not convinced that tying teacher pay to student testing and other performance measures will improve education.
``I think we need to free up teachers to teach and not test,'' Ralston told reporters before the legislative session. ``We've become obsessed with some of these testing measures that we're doing.''
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams said last week merit pay that is not tied to clear and achievable metrics is dangerous.
``If you don't create a structure that people can understand and that they can meet, you are going down a very slippery slope where you're going to not only not incentivize your employees; you're actually going to anger and frustrate them,'' Abrams said.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/1/362252/deal-gives-lawmakers-more-time-to-review-education-overhaul