Teachers tell Dougherty School Board classroom realities must shape education policy

ALBANY — A group of Dougherty County educators used a presentation before the Dougherty County School System Board of Education this week to advocate for stronger teacher involvement in education policy discussions, arguing that educators working in high-poverty school systems often see first-hand the challenges lawmakers debate from a distance.

The presentation, delivered by educators affiliated with SOWEGA Rising, focused on teacher advocacy, literacy support, student mental health, educator retention and equitable school funding while also highlighting growing efforts among southwest Georgia educators to engage more directly in state-level education policy discussions.

Several speakers described participating in educator advocacy events at the Georgia Capitol through organizations including the Georgia Association of Educators and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, where they met with lawmakers and discussed pending education legislation and statewide education priorities.

“As educators, we see first-hand the academic gaps, the teacher shortages, student mental health conditions, attendance challenges, funding needs and realities our students and families face here in Dougherty County,” educator Marie Dickerson-Tabb told the board.

The discussion reflected many of the broader challenges facing rural and economically distressed school systems across southwest Georgia, where educators often work at the intersection of poverty, behavioral health, food insecurity and academic performance.

According to publicly discussed district data, a large majority of students enrolled in Dougherty County School System qualify as economically disadvantaged. Superintendent Kenneth Dyer has repeatedly argued in public meetings that educational outcomes in Dougherty County cannot be separated from the economic realities students face outside the classroom.

National education research has consistently linked concentrated poverty to higher rates of chronic absenteeism, lower literacy achievement, increased behavioral challenges and greater demand for school-based mental health services, issues educators at Monday’s meeting said teachers confront daily.

Several speakers emphasized that teachers should have a larger role in shaping policy decisions because they are responsible for implementing curriculum, managing classrooms and responding to student needs in real time.

“Policies are strongest when they are informed not only by data, but also by lived experiences from educators working directly with children,” educator Keasia Walker told the board.

Among the concerns raised during the presentation were teacher recruitment and retention, educator burnout, literacy intervention programs, expanded pre-K access, equitable school funding and student mental health support.

Educators also publicly thanked district leadership for recently distributing a $2,000 retention supplement to school employees, describing it as a sign educators were valued and supported by district leadership.

At the same time, the retention supplements and broader district spending priorities have drawn financial scrutiny amid concerns about long-term budget sustainability.

Earlier this year, the Dougherty County Board of Education approved a budget amendment projecting the district would spend beyond recurring annual revenues and rely in part on reserve funds to balance operations. District budget documents showed amended general fund expenditures approaching roughly $189.9 million compared to approximately $185.2 million in projected revenues.

District leaders, however, have defended the supplements and related support initiatives as necessary investments in workforce stability during a period when school systems nationwide continue struggling with staffing shortages, post-pandemic burnout and educator retention challenges.

District officials also have argued that many recent expenditures — including mental health initiatives, literacy intervention programs, school social workers and employee support measures — are directly connected to addressing the effects of concentrated poverty and student trauma in Dougherty County schools.

The educator advocacy effort discussed Monday also aligned closely with several legislative priorities recently adopted by the Georgia Association of Educators. Those priorities include calls for a living wage for all public school employees, expanded health care and retirement benefits, paid student teaching opportunities, stronger grievance protections for educators and increased educator involvement in education decision-making.

The platform also advocates for eliminating certain state waivers related to class size and certification requirements, opposing pay-for-performance compensation systems and securing collective bargaining rights for public school employees, positions that remain politically divisive in Georgia, where collective bargaining for public employees is not currently authorized.

While educators speaking Monday did not specifically advocate for every item included in the statewide legislative platform, many of the themes raised during the presentation closely mirrored those priorities, particularly around educator voice, teacher retention, manageable workloads and working conditions.

Unlike some school systems nationally where teacher advocacy efforts have become politically contentious, Dougherty County leadership publicly responded to the presentation in largely collaborative terms.

Rather than distancing the district from the advocacy effort, Dyer said many of the concerns raised by educators aligned with the district’s own legislative priorities and ongoing initiatives.

During the meeting, Dyer highlighted targeted literacy investments at several elementary schools, expansion of district pre-K programs and the district’s investment in school-based mental health services as examples of areas where educator concerns and district policy priorities overlap.

He cited literacy gains at schools receiving targeted intervention funding and noted the district has advocated for years to expand access to free pre-K programs while continuing to seek additional state support for poverty-related educational needs.

The district also has invested heavily in school-based social workers, STEM initiatives, workforce development partnerships and wraparound student support programs in recent years.

“I believe advocacy works,” Dyer told the educators during the meeting. “We’ll make sure we stay in touch and make sure we align those efforts.”

That response reflects a broader philosophy district leadership has increasingly promoted in recent years, framing educational success through both academics and broader community conditions affecting students and families.