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School leaders to Hutchinson: Pay gap biggest school problem Friday, Sep 1, 2006 By Doug Thompson Arkansas News Bureau PEA RIDGE - Gaps between pay for teachers between large and small districts are a much bigger problem for small school districts than state education standards, Pea Ridge School District leaders told governor's candidate Asa Hutchinson on Thursday. Hutchinson, a Republican, has campaigned on how inflexible application of academic standards can lead to schools being sanctioned by the state. Even growing schools in thriving economies have had difficulty finding teachers in all the required subjects under the state school standards, Pea Ridge school leaders told him. However, the pay problem is much harder to solve under existing rules, they said. Hutchinson met with Pea Ridge superintendent Mike Van Dyke and two members of the district's school board, Mike Villines and Rick Webb, at the high school there Thursday afternoon. The high school is meeting all state school standards now, but was put on probation because of a personnel problem that disrupted their offering of drama classes, Van Dyke said. He expects the probation to be lifted after an upcoming inspection but the incident was an embarrassment, Van Dyke told Hutchinson: "People open their papers, see that we're on probation and ask, 'What is that all about?" Starting teacher pay for the district is $32,500 and Bentonville's is $40,000, Van Dyke and the board members told Hutchinson. Average class size at Pea Ridge is 20 to 21, they said. State lawmakers who support the per student formula say schools could match salaries by filling their classrooms to the state maximum of 28 in most grades. Full classes would mean the most state dollars per classroom teacher. However, Van Dyke and the board members said schools should vary their course offerings even if the variety wasn't required by state law. Varied course offerings leads to fewer average students per class as they split among more specialized classes, at least at the secondary school level. Pea Ridge enrollment is up about 12 percent this year, to 1,465, Hutchinson was told. The local economy is good but building enough classrooms is an ongoing task, the group said. Bentonville "gets closer every year," Van Dyke said. This puts the districts in more direct competition for available teachers, he said. Hutchinson outlined his educational proposals for the group, including waivers for state requirements in some cases and options such as distance learning by video connection for teaching in specialized subjects for a number of schools. The group approved the proposals and told Hutchinson the district has been active in using distance learning and providing facilities for it for other districts. However, "There's nothing that takes the place of a qualified teacher in front of a student," Van Dyke told Hutchinson. Spokesman Zac Wright for Hutchinson's Democratic opponent, Attorney General Mike Beebe, said in a statement Thursday: "While some have suggested watering-down educational standards for rural students, Mike Beebe has focused on solutions to give all students - rural and urban alike - an excellent education with the Traveling Teachers model. Mike Beebe's plan gives districts the opportunity to pool resources for teachers in specialized subject areas and share them between schools. To help keep good teachers in Arkansas classrooms, Mike Beebe expanding the existing teacher mentor model to support new teachers. " After meeting with school leaders, Hutchinson addressed a world geography class and took questions from students. Asked why he was running for governor, Hutchinson replied that "after four years in Washington (in President Bush's administration) you have to decide if you want to be a Washingtonian or an Arkansan. We wanted to come back to Arkansas." Hutchinson also described the fundraising stop Wednesday night from President George Bush. "The best thing about it was that the press was excluded and he could talk from his heart," Hutchinson said. The president talked about Iraq "and how families want freedom for their children" and also about his personal faith. The president also talked about baseball, Hutchinson said. Wednesday's event at a private residence raised about $650,000, organizers said. Of that, $250,000 will go to the Republican Party of Arkansas while the remaining $400,000 goes directly to Hutchinson's campaign. Independent Ron Bryan of Little Rock and Green Party nominee Jim Lendall are also in the ballot in the governor's race. A recent poll commissioned by Arkansas News Bureau show the two candidates had a combined 5 percent share of the vote. |
