Roy Barnes 2010

Any success I have had in life can be directly attributed to my family’s values of work and public schools. The education I received in Georgia’s public schools opened doors in life that even my hardworking family could not envision.  Because public schools are the key to social mobility and are the glue that holds us together, we must preserve the integrity of Georgia’s education system by ensuring that funding goes directly to where it’s needed most – our public schools.

PROTECT PUBLIC EDUCATION. Shortchanging our teachers and schools takes opportunity away from our children. Deeper cuts in education funding erode the foundation of their future.  We cannot cut $3.5 billion from education over seven years and expect improvement.  Yes, we’ve had tough times in the past – but we’ve never made our teachers pay for it.  As governor, I will not support teacher furloughs and I will not renege on salary obligations.

SUPPORT EDUCATORS. My wife was a public school teacher and my daughter is a public school teacher. I know firsthand that teachers foster vision and ambition in future generations.  They should be encouraged and rewarded for their work, not ignored and devalued.  If government must tighten its belt, it shouldn’t use it to strangle teachers.  Instead, incentives should be offered to teachers who obtain a National Board Certification or act as mentors to other teachers.  Second, we must do all that we can to attract teachers to the high-need areas – math, science, language and special education.  On an institutional level, schools that achieve more than a year’s growth in an academic year should also be rewarded.

We also need to better support the teachers’ authority in the classroom. Teachers should be able to focus on teaching all of their students, and not just on the discipline problems of a few. For far too long, we have neglected to hold parents responsible for the conduct of their children. Our focus has been punishing the students, when in fact it is the parents’ responsibility to govern their child. Instead, parents who do not get their children to school regularly or whose children have consistent disciplinary problems should face penalties.

Finally, in order to prevent policy makers from losing touch with the classroom teacher, I would have two classroom teachers in residence on the governor’s staff who would participate in all policy and legislative discussions.  I would also convene teacher panels across the state to provide input to policy makers on the issues that classroom teachers deal with every day.

TARGET THE ESSENTIALS. Put first things first in education and give more attention to areas where we need to make the most gains in performance.  Focus on improving early childhood education, emphasizing math and reading.  Reduce school class sizes.  And reduce the number of valuable school days dedicated to standardized testing.  Policy-makers should work with teachers to make sure that the required tests actually provide the information they need for assessing student performance.

Also, we should integrate our technical college system and our high schools.  Giving students the opportunity to receive at least two years of skill-based, postsecondary education can give Georgians valuable vocational skills that will improve their competitiveness in the job market and make Georgia more attractive to expanding business.  Further, by giving high school students access to college-level courses through joint programs, we will better prepare the Georgia workforce and facilitate students’ transition to higher education.