Executive Viewpoint

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Dr. Mike Hernandez, AAEA Executive Director

The staff at AAEA are very grateful for all the work of our school administrators across the state and every teacher, bus driver, custodian, and many other staff members. These people make school happen for the over 476,000 students in our state. Anybody in a car traveling with me in December can tell you that I am not a massive fan of Christmas music. Still, my regular radio stations love to sneak one in occasionally. I then find myself singing along before I catch myself and quickly change the station. Recently, I was accidentally listening to We Wish You A Merry Christmas. I never realized how demanding carolers were to get their "Figgy Pudding." Administrators often have many demands from staff, parents, community members, and other stakeholders. Sometimes, you may question their needs, just like I would question someone wanting to eat figgy pudding, but people want what they want. I am thankful that you rise to the occasion to meet the job's demands. Our state needs you, and our students need you!

Just like stakeholders have their demands, school leaders must make their demands known clearly and consistently to have their needs met as part of providing a quality education. Our city, county, state, and federal leaders must hear and understand the issues schools face daily. You must be able to communicate the problems in a way that compels them to want to listen and take action. You should also expect to provide solutions to each problem that is raised. The times between legislative sessions are excellent opportunities to invite leaders to your schools and build relationships. These are also great places to outline some of your key barriers to educating students. Many have done a great job of this during September and other encounters throughout the fall semester. Also, be sure to share these with AAEA so we can support your efforts.

Another essential action is promoting what your school district is doing to support students and the community. Social media is saturated with negative stories about almost any topic. In contrast, I love seeing all the positive reports from our schools. High ACT scores, school play performances, athletic accomplishments, highlighting staff and boards, and additional academic opportunities are a few examples. A positive story is how you push back on the narrative that schools are not doing what they need to do for students. If parents have wide-open choices, be sure you are always the top choice. Consider adding student voices to the mix as you promote your school.

The next big legislative event will be the Fiscal Session which will start on April 10, 2024. Budget hearings begin in March. There may be some education-related items, such as dealing with cooperative purchasing codes, but nothing concrete has risen. The adequacy study will kick off in Joint Education in January. The study is where funding and expenditures will be reviewed to determine what funding levels will be provided in FY26 and FY27. A push to change the funding formula is being discussed. This may be modeled after the Tennessee TISA model. We are actively studying this model and advocating for legislators to include practitioners in any meetings or modeling of these changes. We hope that more will be included as we get into January. Changing the funding model without substantial input from all parties could be a difficult proposition for everyone. As you have local visits with your elected officials, remember to bring up the funding model changes and ask to be part of the process.

Thank you for everything you do for students. "Good tidings we bring to you and your kin. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"