Mountain Brook, Vestavia PTOs hold forum with state representatives

On Nov.16, Rep. David Faulkner, R-D46, Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-D15, and Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-D16, met with members of the Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook PTO boards for a forum to discuss local educational issues. 

Each PTO board wrote questions prior to speaking with the representatives, which covered topics such as funding for the arts, tenure and raises for teachers, the state Board of Education and the distribution of funds between K-12 schools and universities.

But one concept that was repeated at the forum was the desire to keep some of the control for education at the local level.

“The people in the best position to decide [what’s best for] students are the people who live here,” said Vestavia Hills Interim Superintendent Charles Mason. This idea carried the discussion about the education Advancement and Technology Fund.

Parents as well as both school district superintendents agreed that in order for a school to best utilize its funding, the money should be left to the discretion the local school system. Mountain Brook Superintendent Dicky Barlow gave the example that you wouldn’t give a school student tablets if it did not have the infrastructure to support the new computers or was not going that route.

“If a school system isn’t prepared to handle that, they’re really somewhat useless as an educational tool,” he said.

Currently, the education Advancement and Technology Fund is not earmarked for any particular expenditures or scheduled to be distributed to schools, but Waggoner said it is to be discussed slated during the upcoming regular session, which starts Jan. 9, 2018. Barlow also requested representatives keep an eye on the Educational Trust Fund (ETF) to be sure K-12 schools receive enough funding.

“As you pass laws, just look at what is the state actually going to pay for and then what kind of burden that puts on us,” he said. 

Blackwell noted that funding for the EFT has increased since 2010. Now, 73.5 percent of the fund is put toward K-12 schools instead of 71.6 percent. And when dealing with $6 billion, Blackwell said, “That’s a lot of money.”

Parents were also interested in creating additional course requirements for teachers who may be teaching students who may have disorders that make it difficult to learn or read, such as dyslexia.

Leigh Belcher, a Vestavia Hills PTO representative, called for getting “instruction back into the regular classroom,” stating reading disabilities don’t need to be in special education classrooms. 

Waggoner said the issue is a growing trend that needs to be addressed, and Faulkner agreed, saying he hopes to generate more discussion surrounding the topic.

“We do need to have our teachers better equipped to handle dyslexia,” he said.

To continue facilitating discussion surrounding schools at the local level, all representatives requested principals continue inviting them to the schools to learn more and to contact them by phone with any issues or concerns.

“I think the rest of the state could learn a lot from the districts that are doing it really well, which are right here, which is what you are a part of,” Faulkner said.