Dr. Hale hopes county can avoid teacher layoffs

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

HALE

After the Tullahoma and Putnam County school systems announced they would not rehire non-tenured teachers due to feared state budget cuts, Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale said Friday there are currently no such plans here in Warren County.

“That is something we won’t do until we absolutely have to,” Hale said. “I can’t see us doing that at this time, certainly not before the legislature has passed a budget.”

The pre-emptive measures taken by the school systems in Tullahoma and Putnam County were in anticipation of state budget cuts spelled out in a so-called DOGS budget recently proposed by state Sen. Jim Kyle (D-Memphis). Under this budget, $775 million would be cut from current state spending, including $400 million from K-12 education.

Recently the state Department of Education sent letters to each of the state’s school systems informing them of how much they would lose if the DOGS budget is passed.

Warren County stands to lose $2.9 million of BEP, or Better Education Plan, funds. The BEP is a funding formula created by the General Assembly in 1992 which has 34 funding components, from teacher salaries to school maintenance to transportation. The system usually receives about $17.5 million in BEP money yearly.

Dr. Hale said the school system’s response to the possible budget cuts depends on exactly which version of the DOGS budget might be passed.

The legislature could, he said, pass a version that just cuts funding, leaving individual school systems to decide in what areas they want to make cuts. Should this be the case, Hale said the school board and system personnel would sit down to determine priorities.

State legislators also have the option of increasing student-to-teacher ratios above what the BEP currently dictates. If this happens, Dr. Hale said, between 60 and 70 non-tenured Warren County teachers could then lose their jobs.

“If that happens the ratios could be raised by five students or more and we would be back to levels we were at 10 years ago,” he said.

State Sen. Jerry Cooper said he hopes the DOGS budget is not a serious proposal and, if given the opportunity, he will vote against it. “It’s insane,” Cooper said. “The state constitution requires us to have a balanced budget, but I can’t see at the end of the day the General Assembly voting for the DOGS budget.”

Of course, should it pass, Cooper said there’s always the option of the local government helping to make up the difference. County Executive Carol Hamblen, on the other hand, said the County Commission is having trouble enough funding a new jail and doubts commissioners could find a way to come up with the difference without raising property taxes. County property taxes currently pay for about 12 percent of the school system’s budget.

For his part, Dr. Hale is hoping the speculation of what might happen should the DOGS budget pass is just that – speculation.

“I’m trying to be a positive person,” said Hale. “It is my hope the legislature will find a better alternative.”

Going to the DOGS?
The proposed Downsizing Ongoing Government Services, or DOGS budget, was proposed by state Sen. Jim Kyle and would cut $775 million from current spending levels. The DOGS budget, if implemented, would:
• Cut $400M from K-12 education
• Cut $71M from higher education
• Eliminate the Department of Tourism and the Department of Economic and Community Development
• Revert TennCare to the Medicaid program thus removing 500,000 people from the program.