JTN: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she would sign the Arkansas LEARNS bill on Wednesday, one day after it received final approval from the Senate.
The omnibus bill includes an increase in starting teacher pay to $50,000 a year, which will put Arkansas in the top 10 in the country.
It also includes 120 literacy coaches and $500 tutoring stipends for K-3 students struggling with reading.
Some lawmakers had concerns about Educational Freedom Accounts which would create universal school choice for all students by the 2025-2026 school year.
The bill would cost $298 million in the first year, with $150 million being new money, according to a fiscal impact statement released by the Arkansas Department of Education. The increase in teachers’ salaries would make up $180 million of the cost each year. more here
The two-headed monster that impedes any real educational reform is federal funding and the unions.
I have a built-in aversion to any discussion about pay raises. Here in California, the predominant opinion is that you can never throw too much money into education so we end up with over-paid teachers who do not educate but indoctrinate and they are so crappy at real teaching that our test scores are atrocious.
In a smaller state like Arkansas, you have more elbow room to maneuver, and since education is seminal (conservatives want smarter kids, libs want more obedient kids) Sarah could launch herself into national prominence if she is successful at real reform.
School choice has been shown to benefit the poor, minorities and the “disadvantaged” the most. Unions oppose it because it takes money away from the unionized teachers and hence, the unions. That’s why they oppose it – less money. They don’t really care about the kids, only the money.
Parents will now have a choice for their children’s education.
The democrats are pro-choice for killing babies, BUT not pro-choice to educate children born. An evil darkness has eaten at America’s core.
Love Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. A good person with ball…uh, courage
“An evil darkness has eaten at America’s core.”
Like a giant black monster draping around the planet, blocking out the Light of God and Reason.