Staff development topic of BOE discussion

By Christopher J. Jackson

FAYETTEVILLE — Students learn more when their teachers are in classrooms doing what they’re paid to do: teach.

In order to meet growing demands for schools, Fayette County is seeking ways to provide additional hours for staff development — above and beyond the state’s requirement of 18 hours.

The hard part is finding a way to do this while keeping the teachers teaching.

Staff development allows teachers to catch up on new trends in education. However, it often comes at the cost of a substitute teacher filling the teacher’s void.

During Monday’s regular meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education, Carolyn Arritt said that in her 34 years as a teacher her biggest complaint “for excessive staff development is that there’s too much class interference.”

She said substitutes are being brought in to keep the students occupied.

“The substitutes weren’t qualified to teach the subject they were assigned to,” she said about her experience. “No instruction was being done. They were there to keep them under control and busy.”

Fayette County Superintendent Chris Perkins, “We don’t want to pull teachers out of their building excessively when we can avoid it.”

He went on to say that the board is looking into requesting teachers to pursue hours above 18 either after hours, on weekends or during the summer.

But he said it’s difficult because teachers are not required to attend these if they take place after hours or during the summer, unless they choose to.

Board member Leon Ivey said teachers will not be required to go above 18 hours unless they want to.

“In no case should a teacher be required more than the minimum required by the state,” he said.

He added that once a teacher has completed the required 18 hours, he or she no longer has to participate in the staff development.

So, Fayette County is looking to implement certain strategies, such as banked time, extending the school calendar and seeking grant funding sources to cover costs of additional staff development.



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A month has passed since the Fayette County Board of Education voted 3 to 1 to renew Fayette County Superintendent Chris Perkins’ contract, yet it remains a topic of debate with one member of the board of education.

Board president David Arritt, who voted against the contract, said he felt he signed the contract not knowing the full details.

He said the contract states that Perkins will maintain his current salary of $93,000 annually with a $2,000 cost of living increase, which is effective July 1, 2011, whether or not he remains as superintendent or as a principal.

Arritt said he was not aware of this.

Perkins’ contract was renewed for two years at the beginning of January and will commence July 1, 2010.

He said, “When voting on something, you should know what you’re voting on. In my opinion.”

Ivey said that the contract was never changed from its original form and that it was only “renewed.”

“We didn’t change anything on the contract,” Ivey said. “We renewed as it was. If there had been anything changed, we would have discussed it.”



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Debra Elmore, representing AFT-Fayette, a teachers’ union pursuing accessible and affordable health care for teachers, said she will present a resolution at the next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 16, seeking signatures and support from the school board members. Elmore wants to present the resolution to legislators in Charleston.

She said, “Accessible and affordable health care is critical to keeping teachers here and attracting them to the county.”



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Winners of the 2010 elementary spelling bee (fourth grade) and Fayette County spelling bee, previously named in the paper, were recognized.

— E-mail:

cjackson@register-herald.com

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