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Teachers at 20 schools in Stafford County have moved from the classrooms to the streets outside school hours. |
BY NINA GONZALEZ
Just last year, the Superintendent's Annual Report showed that Stafford County fell 28 percent below the state average in terms of local contributions to per-pupil expenditures. That same year, Forbes magazine named Stafford County the 11th richest county in the nation.
Though teachers and support staff in the county's schools have been hit hard by the financial situation, Stafford's school board has presented no solutions through the 2009 fiscal year.
Faced with rising gas prices, lack of materials and a 10 percent increase in monthly health insurance, teachers in the county recently have begun to embrace the "Work to the Rule" campaign.
THE CAMPAIGN
For the past few weeks, the teachers involved in the campaign have stuck straight to their contract hours, from 7:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. They avoid any voluntary tutoring or planning after school. Any after-school activities such as coaching or Standards of Learning tutoring do not apply because teachers are paid for those programs.
All Virginia counties use a step system for teacher pay. For each year of service, there is a 2 percent increase. What teachers are asking for is an incentive to stay--a cost-of-living raise to help combat the sagging economy.
"It has become too expensive to live here, and I think this movement is just a reflection of the times," said Brooke Point High School principal Cynthia Holder.
Not all teachers have gotten on board the "Work to the Rule" campaign. "I strongly support the campaign, but I just cannot do the 'Work to the Rule.' It does not work for me and what I need to do," said Stafford High School carpentry teacher Tim Phipps.
"I am at school until 7 p.m. regularly working on things that need to get done."
But with 20 of the 29 schools in Stafford County already participating, school administrators have certainly taken notice.
"I find that the campaign has been run very professionally," said Stafford Superintendent David E. Sawyer. "The budgets have already been planned out and if this had begun earlier, it may have come at a better time."
THE BEST OF TIMES,
Organizers said that the campaign is the result of longstanding issues with the county's education funding.
"It's been a three-year process to finally get to this point," said Stafford High School English teacher Suzy Battista, the school's main campaign coordinator. "The 'Work to the Rule' campaign is not something taken lightly.
"Education," she continued, "should be best in the shadow of tough times."
If the situation doesn't improve soon, many Stafford educators worry that the county will not be able to recruit new talent into its school system.
"Teachers already struggle so much, and there are so many who live in a different county because the cost of living is so high here," said Stafford Assistant Principal, Linda Sutherland, who has worked at four of the five high schools in the county. "If this change doesn't happen, I think it will surely show this coming year."
Nearly one-third of teachers live out of the county. As gas prices surge, teachers who commute from neighboring counties have been hit hard by the budget constraints.
"Unfortunately, I am going to have to be a lot more careful with the way I spend money," said Connie Hames, a science teacher at Stafford who lives in Spotsylvania County. "I plan to stay here until I retire, but I'm going to have to take a bullet."
GAINING MOMENTUM
Campaign organizers point to nearby Fairfax and Prince William counties, which offer better salaries and use several recruitment incentives to keep and attract new teachers, as examples.
In the last week, both Arlington and Fairfax County public schools have sent letters of support to the Stafford campaign.
The Washington Post has already begun on a story and B101.5 aired one last week.
With a society steered toward change, supporting the future's education is the first step, said Battista.
"We all need to tighten up, but education shouldn't have to."
Nina Gonzales is a sophomore
