I don't see the thread now, but earlier I saw where one of our ALDEER bretheren asked why any sane person in Alabama would vote for Walt Maddox in November. I can speak for a lot of active teachers and retired teachers (and that's potentially a huge voting block in this state) when I say that many people in K-12 and two-year colleges are tired of not having a voice and not being represented in Montgomery. That's been the case since 2010.

Additionally, I've heard lots of folks say that they don't believe any governor should get the job without truly earning it through an articulate explanation of policies and plans (including debates). And a final concern I've heard from friends and family in education is that no one should get the Governor's job by just running on the platform of "Well, I'm the Republican and I support Trump." That's not nearly good enough or detailed enough for a lot of voters -- even here in Alabama.

I'm not at all trying to stir up a fight here; I'm just telling what I'm hearing folks express.

Doesn't AEA have a strong lobby? I know the retirement/pension/healthcare setup for teachers is pretty good.

Well some may..but not enough to ever win thats for sure. There is NO way hes winning sorry to tell you. There are 2x more republicans registered then democrats in Alabama.

Also ONLY 48000 Teachers in the state. I hardly call that a HUGE number, nor one to be worried about to be honest with over 2 MILLION voters in the last election and 1 317,000 voting republican and ONLY 729,000 dems.

Even if THEY ALL voted dem (which they wont) it would not make a difference at all.

"There's no way Doug Jones wins the Senate race in Alabama!!"

Only way anything like that happens is if a bunch of 14 year old girls come forward saying ivey was making the moves on them. I guess anything is possible.

Vernon,

Don’t be fooled by Walter’s deceitful talk. Have you ever heard him say what his position is on education? I can tell you first hand before he became Mayor of Tuscaloosa he worked in the personnel dept for Tuscaloosa city schools. [/b]THE TEACHERS HATED HIM!. [b] He never stood up for teachers when they needed him. After he was elected Mayor, he started his annual “Mayors Pre-K Run” People thought how wonderful that is, honestly, it was a political stunt. When Paul Hubbard’s health started to decline, he personally asked Walter to take over AEA. Walter said NO because there were to many republicans in the Legislature, he didnt think he could get anything done. Is this who you want representing you?

I would beat Doug Jones for Senate, Roy Moore was a loser before he ran!

Roy Moore had just about the worst allegations you could imagine as a politician come out of the woodwork just before the election and still almost won. Take away the under age girl allegations and he is in office right now.

My wife is a teacher. She hates the AEA. They had strong say in this state for decades and people got tired of their crap. They could have supported both parties but they've always made their bed with democrats and liberals. They've always lobbied against Republicans and conservatives. They don't give a rip about children and people are wise to them. I have a list of personal reasons I don't like the AEA but I'll keep those to myself. They no longer hold power in this state because of their past stances. Nobody is listening to them. Nobody votes based on what they say. They are irrelevant and should stay that way. They created the mess they find themselves in. Teachers in Alabama mostly lean right and don't vote democrat.

I don't like Kay Ivey over the college plan debacle, but Maddox won't be getting my vote over her. She's done an admirable job since taking office.

If that's what you're hearing you may want to change who you're listening to.

Has anyone seen any actual numbers on Alabama teachers voting Democrat or Republican historically? I would bet a large number in Mobile and the areas around here already vote Democrat. I am sure it is different in rural areas but would imagine Birmingham and Montgomery would be heavy Democrat voters as well. Just never seen the actual numbers.

In my opinion, it’s kind of like why Republicans that didn’t vote for Trump, should have. It was much bigger than Trump and even this current point in time. Voters KNEW whoever would take the whitehouse would be picking two and possibly three Supreme Court Justices. I feel the current governor’s race is the same way. I despise Ivey but will vote for her. The reason is because I believe she my not do much good but she will definitely do much less bad than Walt. At least that’s my opinion.

Dang sure don't want to tick folks off here but why is it that teachers are always under-represented and underpaid?

FIFY

There retirement/pension plan is not nearly as good as it use to be along with all other state workers I believe. Yes it is better than most people in private industry simply b cause most of those people don't have one anymore.

I'm an odd ball on this. But, my wife is a teacher. She has a master's degree. I don't think she is underpaid. Now, could she make more in another profession with the same level of education? Probably. But, her benefits are worth at $15,000- $20,000 a year to us with insurance cost these days. Her retirement is better than most other jobs out there. Also, the time off cannot be matched. Now, it is not true that they only work 8-3 and get summers off. She has to be at work my 7:30 every morning (and if she is, she is later than normal) and she can't leave before 3:30 and usually doesn't leave until 4:30 or later. They really only get about 6 weeks off in the summer. (I know it is more than I have ever gotten)

But, bottom line, she makes, with benefits factored in, a good salary.

I think most people that work for the state are under paid especially since the state changed the retirement plan a few years ago.

Blasphemy!

Most teachers that are actually teaching and not in administration are underpaid and underrepresented, at least in the area I live in. The problem lies with money wasted at the administrative level. Three totally seperate school systems in a county of less than 50k is a huge waste. Each of these have seperate superintendents, bus barns, assistant superintendents, textbook coordinators, etc. It's no surprise that those doing the real work, teachers and support staff, feel slighted. There used to be a site you could go to that broke down the number of students per administrator in each school system. I don't remember the name of it, maybe someone else does. The last thing the system needs is another democrat to add to the bloated bureaucracy that is prevalent statewide. What really needs to happen is for a conservative governor and state superintendent to work with local governments and consolidate some of these systems, cut out the hundreds of millions of dollars of administrative waste and then there would be money to pay deserving teachers what they are worth.

The perception of teacher value is a direct correlation with the perceived role of a teacher in education in general.

Some folks think that everything that happens between 7:30am - 3:30 is the school's problem to deal with. Since they do not get the results they want, they likely see teachers as being well compensated.

Some folks realize that, even though you send the kid to school, you (as the parent/guardian) must remain active in their education & discipline. Since you see what really goes into educating kids, you likely see teachers as underpaid.

My take on that kind of talk from people (and I've heard it too):

I've been saying for years our education system is failing an broken in multiple ways. But, I don't see what the big complaint is on representation/voice?

Educators in the public schools get hired on a known pay scale and get upper level benefits and retirement and solid job security when compared to many private corporate jobs. If a teacher wants to earn more there are ways: Get a Masters, Get a PhD, Get experience and then move to a higher paying system, Move into Administration, tutor after school or summers, drive a bus, coach, coordinate a club, etc...or get a 2nd job/start a side business like other people do. On representation...why should teachers get or expect special representation over the rest of us? They already have state and federal departments looking out for them as well as the AEA, NEA and other education unions. Perform the role you were hired to do, Do good work---accept what the pay and benefits are---just like everyone else.

My wife taught in public schools in Mississippi and Alabama for almost a decade. Hard job, sure. Paid decent when considering the benefits and time, yes. Job security, absolutely. Above average retirement plan, dang right. Ability to advance and get paid more, yes. There are many companies and entire industries that are not at that level. So I really don't see the validity of educators complaining on these issues.

Now there are other issues that are in need of change and teachers have every right to raise cane.