A Recap of the State Board Of Education's
June 2007 Work Session

State Board Could Know Soon if Fiscal Accountability Plans Are Working

In October, the state Board of Education will learn whether financial improvement plans in 28 school systems attempting to build a one-month reserve in their general budgets are working. The rest of the state’s 131 systems have either met or exceeded the reserve goal set by the School Board Fiscal Accountability Act.

Craig Pouncey, assistant state superintendent of administrative and financial services, updated the board at its K-12 work session Thursday on efforts to meet the act’s mandates.

Effective since June 2006, the act not only calls for boards to establish a minimum reserve equal to one month’s operating expenses, but it guides proper handling of school funds and requires school boards to adopt sound fiscal management policies.

Pouncey and state Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton said several of the affected boards are very close to reaching their reserve goal, and most will benefit from the 10-mill amendment voters approved last November and the record $1.07 billion bond issue approved this legislative session. In addition, systems may use up to 50 percent of their bond issue money for debt reduction, which would allow them to build their budget reserves.

The state board also reviewed the impact recent legislative action will have on apportionment of education dollars. Those changes will be voted on in August. Among the significant changes is the lower divisor for grades 7 and 8, which will generate about 140 new teachers. Legislators also changed the funding calculations used to determine instructional support salaries.

“For the first time, it acknowledges that assistant principals are worthy of additional dollars beyond the standard teaching contract, that a high school counselor deserves an extended contract, and it increases the amount we are spending on principals,” Pouncey said. The improvements in funding for principals, assistant principals and high school counselors will be phased in over a three-year period.

Also on Thursday, Dr. Mabrey Whetstone and Marla Davis Holbrook, both of special education services, discussed the use of curriculum guides and standards-based Individualized Education Programs to improve student achievement. The guides, which complement the Alabama courses of study, set instructional objectives that allow students with disabilities to access the general education curriculum.

The state board also heard suggestions for several administrative rule updates and clarifications. Those included:

• Changes to rules governing teacher education, which are likely to be voted on at the board’s August meeting. One addition would require a criminal background check prior to student teaching.
• Modified rules that would allow school systems with fewer than 150 buses to count the shop foreman as a certified mechanic. School bus mechanics would also be certified more quickly if the board – which is expected to announce its intent to make these changes in July – approves the changes.
• Alterations to the online course rules, which were inspired by Alabama’s distance learning program and technological and law changes since the rules were written in 2002. Among the changes are lifting the restriction on the number of credits students can earn online; allowing homebound students to participate in online courses with approval; and requiring online teachers to be highly qualified in the course’s content area.

In addition, the state board learned the SDE and Department of Youth Services will launch an ACCESS distance learning project soon. The small scale pilot project will use distance learning technology to teach incarcerated students a course, such as health, with safeguards in place to protect the students’ identities and prevent interaction with other students.

The board gathers for its annual meeting, required by state law, at 9:30 a.m. July 10 in Montgomery.

—Denise L. Berkhalter