Study: Despite modest income, teachers pay for class needs
Every year Anna Graven dips into her modest teacher salary and spends her own money to buy bulletin boards, pencils, paper, highlighters and tissues for her high school students in Oklahoma City. So do almost all of her colleagues across the nation. Nearly all public school teachers report digging into their pockets to pay for school supplies, spending nearly $480 a year, far more than the federal $250 tax deduction available to teachers, according to a study by the National Center of Education Statistics released Tuesday. The findings come as teachers across the country are walking out of classrooms to protest low pay and demand pay raises. Helping teachers pay for classroom supplies was a key demand during the Arizona teachers’ strike. Ninety-four percent of public school teachers say they spent their own money on notebooks, pens and other supplies in the 2014-15 school year without reimbursement, according to the study. The average amount spent was $479. About 44 percent spent $250 or less, while 36 percent spent $251 to $500. Teachers who spend their personal money on children’s classroom needs are able to reduce their taxable income by $250. That amounts to roughly $30-to-$60 in savings for each teacher, according to the American Federation of Teachers, a relatively small sum that is still regarded as a token of appreciation by educators. Teachers pushed back strongly last year when the tax bill passed by the House called for eliminating the deduction altogether. The Senate version of the bill, meanwhile, sought to raise the deduction to $500. In the end, the two chambers reached a compromise, and the deduction remained unchanged. Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, said Tuesday that the study demonstrates a lack of funding of public schools in America. “Educators want to help children; that is why as long as their kids lack the essentials, educators will continue to dig deep, while fighting the defunding and underinvestment that created this crisis in the first place,” Weingarten said in a statement. “There is no other job I know where the workers subsidize what should be a cost borne by an employer as a necessary ingredient of the job.” The study also found that teachers in high-poverty schools were more likely to spend personal money on school supplies. Eighty-six percent of teachers in schools that don’t participate in free or reduced lunch school program said they paid for classroom needs, while around 94 percent to 95 percent of teachers in schools that did participate in the programs said they paid for classroom needs. Graven, who teachers American literature at an Oklahoma City high school, says the school provides very limited supplies and she and her colleagues are forced to pay out of pocket. “We do what we need to do for our students and for us to be able to do our job,” Graven said. “It would be less of a burden if we were also paid a livable wage.” Graven said a teacher like her, with a bachelor’s degree and 18 years of experience, is earning around $42,000 a year. At times Graven has contemplated going into a new profession that pays better. “It’s not an easy job, it’s very stressful and you think, ‘Is it all worth it?’” Graven said. “And then there will be that student that will make you realize that it is worth it.” Some teachers have even gone online to launch crowdfunding campaigns. The web site Gofundme.com has thousands of pages where teachers or activists are raising money to help pay for classroom supplies. The company has even compiled a guidebook to help teachers build effective campaigns, according to Heidi Hagberg, a spokeswoman for Gofundme. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Campaign begins in Huntsville to remove Confederate monument
The weekend’s events — where violence broke out in Charlottesville, Va. during a demonstration by white nationalists and neo-Nazi groups opposed to the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee — has prompted a national conversation on whether symbols of the Confederacy should be removed, and many monuments and statues have started to come down across the country. One of those monuments in question — the Confederate monument on the Madison County courthouse grounds in Huntsville, Ala. There, a local group is fighting for its removal. “This monument is in the center of downtown Huntsville, a forward-looking city with important ties to the federal government and two African-American colleges. Huntsville is proud to have been the first city in Alabama to integrate public schools and facilities. It’s completely unacceptable to honor ‘the principles which gave birth to the Confederate cause’ at the seat of our local government,” the Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance (TVPA) wrote on their GoFundMe page where they’re working to raise funds in order to pay the $25,000 fine the state has set for those who violate the Memorial Preservation Act. The law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year, prevents the removal of historic statues more than 40 years old from public spaces. Under it , Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has the authority to fine the city $25,000 for each violation. Huntsville would be in violation of said law if the city removed the monument without Legislature approval. “Here is a small, concrete action you can take to join the fight against white supremacy right here in Madison County, AL,” TVPA wrote on their Facebook page linking to the GoFundMe campaign. At the time of publishing, they have raid $1,310 of their $2,000 goal.
Birmingham’s Weld newspaper is “temporarily” suspends print publication
As of Wednesday, Weld, Birmingham’s six year old newspaper, has suspended its weekly print publication until further notice. According to a post on Weld’s website the suspension is expected to be temporary. As of July 13, 2017, Weld is suspending publication of its weekly newspaper until further notice. This suspension is expected to be temporary, as the company completes ongoing discussions regarding its future and the future of print journalism in Birmingham. In the meantime, Weld will continue to provide new content on its website, weldbham.com. While the reason for the suspension has not been made public, it is suspected to be due to the high cost of print publication and lack of public funding. In February, Weld turned to GoFundMe, a crowdfunding platform to help fund a three-pronged effort to hire more journalists, print more newspapers and expand distribution. “We’ll hire more journalists. We’ll print more newspapers. We’ll continue to grow our distribution footprint. And that’s the key. That’s the area for growth,” said publisher Mark Kelly in February of the GoFundMe campaign. “It’s to help us to not just offset the cost of doing community journalism, but to increase the audience, increase our page count, increase the number of people who have the opportunity to look at our paper, and to increase the amount of news and information that we provide that’s important. According to their fundraising page, they’ve fallen shy of their $300,000 goal, having only raised $12,010 from 116 donors.
Talladega College raises over $600k to play at Donald Trump’s inauguration
The Talladega College Marching Tornadoes band found themselves in the middle of a national controversy over its decision to perform at president-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration on Friday. Since agreeing to participate, the historically black Alabama college found itself struggling to raise the $75,000 necessary to travel to D.C. and participate. Enter a hopeful solution: a GoFundMe campaign. Hoping to crowdsource the necessary funds, the small school took to the internet to meet the fundraising goal, and did they ever. In just 14 days, with the help of 10,690 individuals across the country, the school has raised $619,669. That’s over eight time the $75,000 goal. What put the college over the top? An appearance from school president Dr. Billy C. Hawkins on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News last Thursday night. “Some alumni have come at me pretty hard; they don’t want the band to participate and say I am a disgrace to my race,” Hawkins told O’Reilly during the segment. “This is about the students having an opportunity to participate in this national ceremony.” Following Hawkins’ appearance and O’Reilly’s plea to his viewers to help make the trip possible money poured into the site in hopes of making the trip a reality for the roughly 230 band members. “Congratulations to The Marching Tornadoes and President Hawkins!,” commented a man who donated $100 on the page. “I look forward to seeing you on television Friday! Make Alabama proud!” In a Friday news conference, Hawkins called the response “probably the single-greatest fundraising effort” for the school. The band is still taking donations.
Uber in Birmingham? Here’s looking at Johnathan Austin
Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin has said he’s on board with Uber but as well all know with our elected officials actions speak louder than words. So here’s looking at the council to actually take up the issue not just talk about it. Earlier this year a Facebook was created and GoFundMe site started as of today they have 111 followers and have raised $10,785. The name was changed from the original to Magic City Movement where there’s frequent communication about what’s going on. Today, they posted this post from Uber. There’s been a lot of chatter from the local community about bringing ridesharing to Birmingham—one of the biggest cities in U.S. still without this option. As this map below shows, people aren’t just talking about Uber, they are clamoring to use it—whether on campus, North Birmingham, Southside, or anywhere in between. Since last summer, tens of thousands of people have opened up the Uber app in all corners of Birmingham, checking to see if a safe ride was available. This means that millions of dollars could have gone in the pockets of hundreds of local drivers using Uber to make some supplemental income by providing rides in their communities. Here at Uber, we’re just as eager to provide safe, reliable rides and flexible work opportunities to Magic City residents and visitors as they are to have them, however, the existing regulations make it impossible for Uber to operate in Birmingham. With 75% percent of the U.S. population already having access to ridesharing, Birmingham is getting left behind. At the August 26 Committee of the Whole meeting, we learned that a ridesharing ordinance would be drafted within 30 days, and then voted back on in the Committee of the Whole. While it’s disappointing that more than 8 weeks later, no draft ridesharing ordinance has been made available, we’re encouraged to learn that Council President Austin is revisiting this issue next week in the Committee of the Whole and plans to have a draft ridesharing ordinance voted on by the full Council within 30 days. Over 20 states and dozens of jurisdictions have passed sensible regulatory frameworks for ridesharing, welcoming it into their communities, all in one short year. We hope that Birmingham—under Council President Austin’s leadership—can take the same innovative approach, and look forward to bringing safe rides and economic opportunity to Birmingham in the near future.
Our deepest condolences to Fox News’ Mary Katharine Ham
The world said goodbye to one of the good guys Saturday. 34 year old White House staffer, Jake Brewer, died after suffering fatal injuries in a head-on collision after he rode his bike off of the track during the Ride to Conquer Cancer charity fundraiser bike race, where he was cycling to raise money for a friend who has cancer. His death was announced Sunday morning in a heart-breaking, heartfelt Instagram post by his wife, Montgomery native and frequent Fox News guest and conservative commentator, Mary Katharine Ham: We lost our Jake yesterday, and I lost part of my heart and the father of my sweet babies. I don’t have to tell most of you how wonderful he was. It was self-evident. His life was his testimony, and it was powerful and tender and fierce, with an ever-present twinkle in the eye. I will miss him forever, even more than I can know right now. No arms can be her father’s, but my daughter is surrounded by her very favorite people and all the hugs she could imagine. This will change us, but with prayer and love and the strength that is their companion, we can hope our heartache is not in vain– that it will change us and the world in beautiful ways, just as he did. If that sounds too optimistic at this time, it’s because it is. But there was no thought too optimistic for Jake, so take it and run with it. I will strive and pray not to feel I was cheated of many years with him, but cherish the gift of the years I had. In a life where nothing is guaranteed, Jake made the absolute, ever-lovin’ most of his time with all of us. This is a family picture we took a couple weeks ago. It was taken because Jake, as always, was ready with a camera and his immense talent. All four members of our little, growing family are in it. I can never be without him because these babies are half him. They are made of some of the strongest, kindest stuff God had to offer this world. Please pray that he can see us and we’ll all make him proud. God, I love him. Psalm 34:18, Philippians 1:3 Jacob – known as “Jake” – was a senior policy advisor to President Barack Obama in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and had previously worked as the director of external affairs at Change.org. On Sunday, President Obama offered his condolences in a statement, calling Brewer “one of the best”: I am heartbroken at the tragic loss of one of my advisors, Jake Brewer. We set out to recruit the best of the best to join their government and help us harness the power of technology and data to innovate new solutions for the 21st century. Simply put, Jake was one of the best. Armed with a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable desire to give back, Jake devoted his life to empowering people and making government work better for them. He worked to give citizens a louder voice in our society. He engaged our striving immigrants. He pushed for more transparency in our democracy. And he sought to expand opportunity for all. I’ve often said that today’s younger generation is smarter, more determined, and more capable of making a difference than I was as a young man. Jake was proof of that. Michelle and I are praying for all of Jake’s family and his many friends, most of all his wife, Mary Katharine Ham, their daughter, Georgia, and their growing family. They’ll always have a family here at the White House. “The pain and shock is devastating. Jake leaves behind an adoring wife, Mary Katharine, a beautiful toddler, Georgia, and another baby on the way,” read a GoFundMe fundraiser page set up by friends of Mary Katharine in order to help provide for their children as they grow up. She has also asked that people donate to The Travis Manion Foundation, which supports families of fallen U.S. servicemen. In approximately 26 hours, the page reached its $200,000 goal. According to Allahpundit at Hotair.com, at Mary Katharine’s insistence, funds in “excess above and beyond what’s needed for the care and education of the children will be donated to charity. That’s what kind of person she is. At a moment of supreme horror and panic, she thought of how she might do some good for others too.”
Paul Sanford creates Gofundme account for states $300 million budget deficit
Friday afternoon State Senator Paul Sanford created a GoFundMe account to “Fund the Alabama State Government” or more accurately as he said he created it to prove a point. The state needs $3 million dollars and as the first of what could be several special sessions comes to a close it doesn’t look like the legislature is any closer than they were before it started to find a solution. Gov. Robert Bentley and Speaker Mike Hubbard want to raise taxes but the senate seems firmly against most or all of their ideas. The comments on the account so far are mixed but I think it’s brilliant. Not a lot of people are paying attention to what’s been happening in Montgomery so this may be a great way to draw attention to a subject that will affect everyone in the states pocketbooks. GoFundMe sites are often shared through social media and can spread like wildfire. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of the latest funny meme people were talking about their priorities for the state and giving their elected officials input on cuts vs. tax increases? The description on the site is below. So far it has raised $225.00. According to a report by WAFF Sanford said he will make sure the money gets to the Department of Revenue with the noted earmarks for what it is to be used for. The State of Alabama is experiencing tight financial times and needs your help. Legislators are debating possible financial solutions but are finding that Raising Taxes are not wanted by the citizens of Alabama. Rather than have the Government come after your hard earned money you can now send an amount that fits your budget, even request where your money be used. You can determine what functions of Government are a priority to you. In a comment left on the site he says: I do appreciate the comments but please realize this was to prove a point that most people do not want to pay more taxes but are for taxes when the other guy is to be taxed. Also, even the few donations that have been received reflect our ability to budget State functions (earmarked for education a rate of 8 to 2 (education to other govt services). It is easy to get support for education but not so easy for he remaining rolls of Government.
Birmingham supporters of Uber, Lyft start Facebook, GoFundMe accounts
A Facebook page supporting Uber and Lyft came online Tuesday and as of 3:20 p.m. Wednesday already had 2,143 supporters. A GoFundMe account which indicates it was created by Bill Smith, the CEO of Shipt, has raised $1,940 toward a $10,000 goal. Organizers describe themselves and their goal on the page saying: We are a group of Birmingham citizens and businesses that are standing up for the transportation options that we deserve. Ride sharing is a necessity to create a vibrant city that attracts visitors and businesses … it’s not just a “nice” to have anymore. People that visit Birmingham expect to just open the Uber or Lyft app and get a ride on demand. When visitors realize these services aren’t available, it makes them think very negatively about our city. For Birmingham residents, ride sharing offers a safe option to get around when enjoying the awesome restaurants and bars around town. With 750 million dollars being invested downtown to build six new hotels and thousands of apartments, now is the time to bring ride sharing to Birmingham! Funds raised will directly support these efforts. Efforts include lobbying, PR, and marketing. Rep. Jack Williams sponsored legislation supporting ride sharing this past session. When asked about the organic movement he said, “I am glad to see continued public interest and support for bringing ride sharing to Alabama. I am asked about ‘when will Uber or Lyft come to Alabama?’ multiple times per week.” When asked about the page, a spokesperson for Uber said, “Uber is not affiliated with this group.” UPDATE: The GoFundMe page has been updated to reflect today’s news the Birmingham City Council has passed an ordinance provisionally approving ridesharing to operate in the Magic City. Writes page creator Bill Smith: I am super excited to announce the Birmingham City Council just passed a new Transportation Network ordinance that will allow Uber to begin operations. This is a major step forward for our city. There is a 6 month review period, I feel confident that there won’t be a problem moving forward after the review period. Uber hasn’t announced a launch date yet, as soon as they do I’ll let you know. When they do launch, let’s all make sure to use the service as much as possible. Thank you for supporting this effort!
