Dateline—MONTGOMERY.
The results of a statewide survey, conducted by 2,221 educators and community leaders, were released Monday.
According to Superintendent of Education Wayne Teague, Alabama school systems need to hire 7,900 additional professional and support staff employees. The cost would be $251 million.
The assessment team suggested hiring more than 2,300 elementary school teachers at a cost of $86 million; 644 junior high teachers at a cost of $24 million; more than 1,000 high school teachers at a cost of $37 million; more than 760 special-education instructors at a cost of $28 million; almost 1,400 administrators and supervisors at a cost of $51 million; and almost 1,800 support personnel at a cost of $25 million.
Teague said that a dire personnel shortage exists in Alabama city and county school systems. He said that if the problem continues to go unattended, it could threaten the state's future economic and social well being.
Teague also said that he did not expect any major changes in the way
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the state funds education until after the next elections. He said that he agreed with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby's comments at the Alabama Education Association state convention in Montgomery last week. Shelby said that the state must invest in education if it hopes to move ahead.
Teague also noted that the "climate" is not right for tax reform now.
Quotations from Teague: "You might see some tokenism, but nothing significant, before the elections.… It is very obvious that many, if not all, of our city and county systems are facing a dire personnel shortage. If we are to continue to make further improvements in the years ahead, there must be a restructuring of the way we finance elementary and secondary schools. We cannot make the kind of progress we need to make in our school systems by counting solely on just the growth in the Special Education Trust Fund."
Teague also noted that: "Two of the greatest needs are guidance counselors and special-education teachers."
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Exercise 20.1
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education