By Lou Phelps
Three members of the Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Board need to be brought to task by the families who educate their children in Chatham’s public school system, Susu Cox, Lori Brady and Julie Gerbsch.
All vigilantly fought adequate funding this year for the public schools, a system that is finally making long overdue improvements, with measureable improvements and results occurring every month. Ultimately, Lori Brady acquiesced and voted in favor of the final budget and small millage rate increase, while Cox and Gerbsch voted against the 2010-2011 budget.
Ask a leader in the Savannah business community – the people creating jobs here - and they’ll tell you that they support funding the public schools, because without an educated workforce, they can’t run their companies and our economic development leaders can not bring new jobs to Chatham county. Or hold onto the ones we now have.
Take a quick look at the most recent CRCT test results for the public schools in Chatham, Effingham and Bryan counties, reported only here in Coastal Family Magazine, on page 14. Now, imagine that you’re a company in Minnesota that’s interested in adding a plant in the South, and being next to either the Savannah or Brunswick ports and along Interstate 95 for easy truck routes.
Then decide which county to locate in.
It’s tough to make a case for Chatham County when trying to explain the quality of the county’s workforce OR to convince executives from the Minnesota company that their own children can be well educated in the local public school system.
Chatham County has a wealth of private schools, but for many families, they are not an option or a preference. In most areas of the country, a private school education – unless chosen for religious reasons – is not the norm.
The Chatham County public school system is improving under Dr. Lockamy’s leadership, but it has a long way to go. It needs funding and support from the community and our board members.
African American members of the board led the way in support of an increase in the tax rate to fund the schools, as Chatham County faces cuts from the State of Georgia for the year ahead as well as a cut from local property taxes due to property devaluation.
Member Floyd Adams reminder the audience and his fellow members, during one particularly contentious moment of debate, that local parents who pay rent are also affected by property tax increases – property tax increases are passed on to tenants by building owners. It is an inaccurate stereotype to believe that black families who do not own homes are not affected by property tax increases.
We continue to hear stereo-typing comments made about African American families or less affluent parents by those in the more well-to-zip codes that are ill-informed. Cox and Brady may be playing to their Republican-led bases, but they are not serving the children of the district, their ultimate responsibilities.
Member Julie Gerbsch has maintained that she was against supporting an increase in the tax digest for the school system, stating that she remains unhappy with the budgeting process and the budget itself, which she believes should come from a “zero-based” approach, versus the current method she believes is being used.
No budget process is ever good enough. But, her passive aggressive approach to the bigger question of what was needed to adequately fund the schools, did little to advance the debate. And, ultimately, she voted against the budget. If she is convinced that the budget is ill-constructed, then she needs to gather support of the majority of her board to form a task force to begin immediately to develop a new budgeting process of which she approves.
Large cuts will still take place for the school year ahead despite the small increase in the millage rate that was ultimately approved. One of the worse losses is the cut in EIP teachers who work with students who are not performing at par. The loss of these teaching positions not only affects the individual student that needs help, but will affect the total classroom in which the student is placed…and strain every teacher that has students in their classroom who is behind.
All of the EIP teachers were going to be cut, but 10 were saved for the worse classrooms, at the loss of 10 academically talented teachers. What could be a worse message to send to business owners and leaders considering keeping their companies in Chatham County or relocating here – cut the programs that support the best and brightest in the public system?
Susu Cox, Lori Brady and Julie Gerbsch are sending the wrong messages during a time where unity amongst public education leaders is sorely needed.
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