Last week, State Education Superintendent Eric Mackey announced that Alabama had lost more than 5,800 students in its public schools.
The news triggered alarm from some, including the state teachers' union, the Alabama Education Association (AEA), which raised the possibility of a reporting requirement for homeschooled students.
However, State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville), chairman of the House Education Budget Committee, says he is not alarmed by those numbers.
"Well, we know that at the 5,800, that there were 3,000 that were CHOOSE Act,” Garrett said. "We know that. That's not a surprise. We expected that. I think that — I don't know what the final number is on the immigration issue, but that's certainly a factor, and that shouldn't surprise anyone else. Also, I think the fact that more people are choosing to opt for other options, whether it be private school or homeschool, shouldn't be a surprise to anyone."
“And I think that, you know, the demographics — I don't know how the inflection point is on this, but as people, as we move through time, people are having less children. It's a different deal,” he continued. “So, I don't know that that's such a dramatic drop. You're certainly not going to lose 700 teachers. I mean, we have a teacher shortage in the state. So, if you talk to the Department of Education, that was misreported. It's not 700 teachers that you would lose. But if you look across the state, most districts saw small declines, 1%. I live in Trussville, a growing area. We had a 1% decline in our enrollment. Now, that's probably maybe private school and homeschool. It may just be the fact that people, the number of children that live there.
“I don't know, but none of those things alarm me. But again, our goal is not to protect AEA,” Garrett added. “Our goal is not to protect the status quo. Our goal is to provide the best educational opportunities for our children. The state of Alabama has been woefully at the bottom of all those rankings. So I'm not alarmed by that, and I want to understand it. But nothing about those numbers really alarm me."
Jeff Poor is the editor-in-chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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